McKinsey, an industry analyst and research firm, in its Fintech Africa Report, has named Ghana as one of the fastest growing fintech markets on the continent with an annual growth rate of 15 per cent.

According to the Fintech Africa Report, currently, the lion’s share value in the market, of approximately 40 per cent is concentrated in South Africa, but moving forward, Ghana is expected to grow by huge margin the coming years in the Fintech market.

“The fintech market is expected to grow fastest in Ghana and Francophone West Africa, by 15 per cent and 13 per cent per annum respectively, over the next three years.”
Fintech Africa Report

These markets, the report indicated would be followed by Nigeria and Egypt, each with an expected growth rate of 12 per cent per annum over the same period.

Per the report, Kenya still remains one of the biggest fintech markets on the continent, but Ghana is fast catching up with Kenya at that growth rate. The report further noted that by 2025, Ghana’s fintech market is expected to be valued at US$18.6 billion, growing eight times from 2020. Meanwhile, Kenya is still expected to sit at the top with a value of US$30.3 billion in 2025.

Meanwhile, the Africa average excluding South Africa is expected to be a little over US$11 billion but the estimated penetration of fintech into African market is still quite low at 8 per cent for Ghana, 13 per cent for Kenya, and an average of 5 per cent for the rest of Africa, excluding South Africa.

Block Chain and Crypto to Lead the Way

The report added that block chain and crypto currency are expected to lead the pack among the key growth drivers.

“Block chain and crypto currencies are set to grow the fastest, recording a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 50 per cent from 2020 to 2025. This sector will be followed by payments and digital wallets, both at around 20 per cent CAGR.”
Fintech Africa Report

This is in line with what the Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful about cryptocurrency. She asserted that cryptocurrency is happening, and Ghana can no longer sit on the fence but instead needs to find ways of making it benefit the Ghanaian economy.

However, the Bank of Ghana (BoG), since June 2018, issued a circular declaring cryptocurrency illegal in Ghana, warning all financial institutions not to transact crypto and cautioned the public against all crypto platforms.

The central bank has since made it a practice to always go after any crypto platform that emerges in Ghana. It warns the public against doing business with such “unlicensed” and “illegal” media.