Africa’s Telecom Companies Are Becoming Financial Institutions
Mobile money began as a convenient way to send and receive cash. Today, Africa’s largest telecom operators are moving into lending, savings, insurance and investment products. MTN’s interest in acquiring banking licences raises a bigger question: could the mobile network eventually become more important to African consumer finance than the traditional bank branch?
ET&A Research · 27 August 2026
For much of Africa, the most important financial institution of the next decade may not look much like a bank.
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