The Zimbabwe-founded platform, which began in 2004 by selling international airtime, now facilitates between $3.5 billion and $4 billion in annual payment flows, positioning itself at the heart of Africa’s fast-growing digital financial ecosystem.

“We are scaling up rapidly,” said Andy Jury, Mukuru’s CEO, in an interview with Bloomberg. “Customers have become more comfortable using digital means, networks, and infrastructure.”

Mukuru’s growth is riding the wave of Africa’s digital transformation. Africa has emerged as a global leader in mobile banking, with Sub-Saharan Africa holding nearly 50% of the world’s mobile money accounts and processing $2.5 billion in daily transactions.

This surge is driven by a young, tech-savvy population and limited access to traditional banking services. For instance, Ghana experienced a 51.76% increase in electronic transfers, reaching $196.7 billion in 2024

Digital transactions now account for two-thirds of Mukuru’s payments, up from 40% four years ago—a sign that virtual money is replacing cash and cheques in everyday financial activity.

In line with this shift, Mukuru has expanded its wallet services. In January 2025, the company launched a digital wallet in Zimbabwe offering local and international money transfers, free cashouts, and basic payment services.

This follows the rollout of similar services in Malawi, where more than 12 million people already rely on mobile money to manage finances.

Fintech platforms like Mukuru have become essential infrastructure, supporting remittances, payments, and access to credit in places where banks often struggle to reach.

Despite this growth, the sector faces significant challenges. The absence of a unified regulatory framework across African nations complicates operations for companies like Mukuru, making it time-consuming to navigate diverse regulations and achieve economies of scale.

Jury highlighted the difficulty of operating within Africa’s heterogeneous regulatory environments, noting the need to “knit together the puzzle pieces of 54 nation-states.”

Interoperability among mobile money platforms remains a critical issue. Experts advocate for seamless transactions between different mobile wallets and bank accounts to reduce remittance costs, which are notably high in Africa. As of 2023, the global average cost for sending $200 was 6.3%, but in Africa, it reached as high as 27%.

This fragmented landscape slows the pace of expansion. Jury noted that while Mukuru is now licensed to operate in 50 territories, it took nearly two decades to achieve that.

For companies like Mukuru, the opportunity lies not only in capturing a growing market but also in shaping the future of how financial services reach the underserved.

As Africa’s mobile-first economy evolves, Mukuru’s expansion drive reflects both the scale of the opportunity and the complex realities of doing business across the continent.