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Africa’s financial landscape is changing fast, with new technology and innovative financial solutions transforming how the continent’s people bank, spend, and save.
Fintech has continued to drive growth in the continent’s tech ecosystem. In fact, in 2024 alone, it secured a groundbreaking $1.4 billion — equivalent to 60% of total equity funding.
The 2025 edition of GITEX Africa returns this year, providing new opportunities to explore the continent’s finance revolution.
The Future of Finance Summit is set to bring together industry leaders, government officials, and innovators to discuss these changes at the GITEX AFRICA from April 14-16.
The event aims to shed more light on Africa’s emergence in fintech, discuss strategies for financial inclusion, and set the stage for the future of global finance.
Africa has made strides in moving from the hurdle of traditional banking with mobile money to skyrocketing fintech growth, thus transforming its finance landscape. The importance of Fintech on the continent is growing with a 20% surge in mobile money and a whopping $2.7 billion in investments in just 24 months, as well as emerging blockchain in Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria.
Traditional banks and fintech collaborative reform
Given the current technological transformation across Africa, it could be time for traditional banks and fintech companies to join forces to advance the future of digital finance in the continent. Although they have competed in the past, new opportunities for partnerships continue to emerge.
Merging traditional banks with state-of-the-art fintech is likely the key to bringing financial services to more people across Africa
Nowadays, banks need interoperability to ensure that data flows easily and securely between data providers, often banks and credit unions, and third-party data recipients. This task is made easy through the use of fintech.
For a customer to easily send funds to a foreign bank account, interoperability renders this process much easier for both the consumers engaging in these transactions and the banks and fintechs that initiate them.
Banks and fintech solutions could work on building products and collaborating with the ecosystem in a way that leads to seamless consumer experiences when connecting accounts from one bank or fintech entity to another, even if the other entity is a competitor.
A key question lingers — how does one make this last for the long-term? Here we talk about the sustainable financing process of taking environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into account when making investment decisions in the financial sector, leading to more long-term investments in sustainable economic activities and projects.
GITEX Africa’s Future of Finance Summit this year will provide a platform for all of these actors to discuss how to work together to create systems to improve customer experience, using data to create personalized financial services
These discussions, speakers, and panels are also set to discuss responsible banking through environmental and social standards, modernizing banking systems with artificial intelligence, finding investment opportunities for fintech growth, creating rules that protect consumers while encouraging innovation, and using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to prevent fraud and protect customers.
The future of African banking
Africa’s banking sector is undergoing a tremendous shift with greater use of new technologies, especially with the emergence of AI.
Digital technology has been particularly useful in finance, with improved advancements in connectivity and network development, leading to the proliferation of novel forms of digital money and other banking technology.
The incorporation of emerging technologies in Africa’s finance scene can help boost performance and put the continent’s ability to develop much-needed digital finance and banking solutions on the right track.
The Future of Finance Summit is anticipated to be an engaging platform for visitors to indulge in conversations on how fintech can shape Africa’s finance.
Industry leaders, government officials, and innovators are expected to address these important matters, with key topics encompassing how affordable tech can contribute to Africa’s revolution in its march to a more digital and secure use of technology in the field.
They will also tackle other topics ranging from investing in fintech, AI, and next-gen solutions, inclusive finance and how to design tech for African consumers
The summit will also explore developing Africa’s affordable technology solutions, connecting cash-based systems with digital platforms, using cutting-edge technology to solve financial problems, designing products for Africa’s young, tech-savvy population, and tracking investment trends in African fintech.
Africa’s fintech and SME economy
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of Africa’s economy, generating nearly 50% of the continent’s GDP with a potential value of $1 trillion in Africa.
Due to their importance in Africa’s financial landscape, the Future of Finance Summit is expected to allocate a whole day for SMEs in the digital age.
This will be a platform for entrepreneurs to get inspired and learn how to navigate challenges and adapt their businesses to the changing digital age, bringing out the most of this new digital era.
Entrepreneurs will have the chance to boost their knowledge and awareness of the digital skills needed to improve their businesses. Small businesses owners will be able to discover the latest tailored financial services, and the skills needed to thrive in the digital economy.
The sub-themes of the day include banking and fintech for SMEs, how to find access to solutions and funding, scaling and cross-border trade, as well as navigating regulations.
The GITEX 2025 Future of Finance Summit shows Africa’s commitment to transforming its financial landscape, betting on working together, embracing new ideas, and tackling challenges directly, to position Africa as a future leader in global fintech.
Source: Morocco word news
