Today, one of the biggest financial challenges in Africa remains banking access.
Over 60% of the population still does not have access to banking services, despite years of initiatives aimed at addressing this issue.
More than 400 startups are tackling this problem, some supported by major investment funds or accelerators like Y Combinator. Yet, the results remain very limited.
Most of these fintechs are doubling down on innovation, and banks themselves are working to make their services more accessible. But despite these efforts, Africa remains one of the most underbanked continents in the world. This is true even with the widespread adoption of the Internet, smartphones, and a connected youth. People’s habits and behaviors still do not align with the imposed models.
At the same time, a solution long considered “informal” has spread across the continent: mobile money. Today, there are more than 1.6 billion accounts worldwide, nearly 800 million of which are in Africa. In West Africa alone, hundreds of millions of users are active daily, accounting for over a billion transactions each day.
In practice, almost every young African has a mobile money account. From villages to large cities, among both educated and illiterate populations, everyone uses this service.
Mobile money has become the solution best suited to African realities. It is not just a financial tool; it represents an African technological identity, created by Africans for Africans. Even though it still faces challenges, particularly in terms of security and modernity, it is the most relevant solution from a cultural and economic perspective.
At Bicents, this leads us to a deep reflection:
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Why try to transform mobile money into a fintech, instead of strengthening it as it is?
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Why is it still perceived as informal, even though it is the true financial infrastructure for millions of Africans?
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Can mobile money withstand the traditional banking model and credit cards?
For us, one urgent question arises: how can we disrupt existing financial industries in favor of mobile money?
This is precisely the vision we carry with Wespee: rethinking mobile money. We aim to address its major current challenges security, fragmentation, ease of use, image, and technological integration because these are the factors that weaken its potential and keep it in the shadow of banks and fintechs.
With Wespee, our mission is clear: to make mobile money more secure, simpler, more universal, and more modern, adapting it to contemporary aspirations and connecting it to the global economy.