Analysis ·
Mobile money: Africa carries two-thirds of the world's value
$1.1 trillion moved in 2024 and 1.1 billion accounts. Where that money flows, region by region, according to the GSMA.
In 2024, Africa counted 1.1 billion registered mobile money accounts, up 19% in a year, and 81 billion transactions worth $1.1 trillion, according to the annual report of the GSMA, the global association of mobile operators.
- 53 %Registered accounts
- 56 %Active 30-day accounts
- 66 %Transaction value
- 74 %Transaction volume
A highly concentrated market
East Africa alone accounts for nearly 60% of African value, at $649 billion. West Africa follows with $357 billion. Central Africa remains far behind at $83 billion, but its registered accounts are growing fast: 24% in a year, to 104 million accounts.
| East Africa | 649 | |
|---|---|---|
| West Africa | 357 | |
| Central Africa | 83 | |
| North Africa | 10 | |
| Southern Africa | 6 |
Many accounts, fewer regular users
Of 1.1 billion accounts, 286 million were used in the past 30 days, about one in four. The figure to watch is therefore not how many accounts are open, but how much they are really used.
For developers, the stakes are concrete: a payment app must keep its books without error, even when the network drops mid-transaction. That is what our course on the API and mobile money payments works on.
Keep in mind: these are estimates from the GSMA, which represents the industry. A registered account is not a person, since someone can hold several. And these regional figures do not show the situation of any one country.
