Tanzania's Fintech Boom: Local Innovators Lead the Charge

Tanzania is emerging as a significant hub for financial technology (fintech) innovation, boasting a dynamic ecosystem of 171 active players. This landscape, as detailed in new research by Cofounders Notebook, a weekly newsletter focused on African fintech and technology, spans various crucial segments including payments, digital banking, lending, and banking infrastructure. The research, spearheaded by Reuben Mwatosya, Co-Founder and COO of Tanzania's financial infrastructure company Tembo, culminates in the 'Fintech Map of Tanzania,' a comprehensive report released in July. This map meticulously identifies, classifies, and documents fintech companies operating within the country, encompassing not only homegrown startups but also regulated financial institutions, infrastructure providers, multinational fintech firms, enterprise software companies, and technology firms relevant to the domestic fintech sector. These entities represent a mix of Tanzanian-founded ventures, regional African fintech companies, and international firms serving Tanzanian customers.

The Tanzanian fintech ecosystem is overwhelmingly dominated by native companies, which constitute 90.1% of all industry stakeholders, accounting for 155 ventures. These are followed by alternative lenders with 10 companies and mobile money providers with 6 companies, underscoring the strong local impetus driving the sector's growth.

Within the fintech-native landscape, the payment vertical stands out as the largest, holding a commanding 70.3% market share with 109 companies. This vibrant segment includes 62 payment system providers, 26 remittance and cross-border trade payment service providers, and 21 payment aggregators. Key players in this space include Selcom Paytech, a major provider of electronic payment products and services, offering digital, card, and card-less processing with a vast network of over 25,000 agents, 100,000 merchants, and 40 banking partners. AzamPay specializes in developing end-to-end online payment solutions for East African companies, featuring a developer-first gateway, no-code links, and consumer wallets. Pesapal Tanzania facilitates businesses in accepting payments online, via mobile money, and through point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

Following payments, alternative financing emerges as the second-largest fintech vertical in Tanzania, comprising 21 digital lending platforms and capturing a 13.5% share. Notable brands in this category include Watu, an asset finance company providing accessible loans for motorcycles, three-wheelers, and smartphones. Originally from Kenya, Watu has extended over 2 million loans across eight countries. MOGO Tanzania, part of the international Eleving Group, offers accessible vehicle and asset financing, specializing in loans for motorcycles, tuk-tuks, cars, smartphones, and logbook loans. Branch operates a digital mobile lending and personal finance platform, offering smartphone-based instant loans up to TZS 1 million (approximately US$377) with swift approvals.

Digital accounting and tax solutions form another prominent fintech vertical, making up 11.6% of all fintech-native companies with 18 entities. SoftNet Technologies, a homegrown ICT solutions provider, serves clients across government, telecommunications, banking, and finance. Pergamon Group, another ICT solutions company, offers a wide range of products including POS and fiscal solutions, security enhancement, office automation, and banking cash solutions, with a presence in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya.

Finally, the credit scoring, artificial intelligence (AI), and embedded finance vertical includes seven providers, accounting for 4.5% of the market. Prominent ventures here are JUMO and Kuunda. JUMO operates a banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform that leverages AI to power digital credit and savings in emerging African markets. Headquartered in South Africa, JUMO serves over 39 million customers across several African countries, including Tanzania, and has disbursed over 313 million loans. In Tanzania, it powers products like Timiza Akiba (a mobile money savings solution on Airtel Money) and Tigo Nivushe (a short-term credit product). Kuunda is a B2B digital fintech infrastructure company providing embedded working-capital and micro-lending solutions, such as instant access liquidity and growth financing.

The research further highlights that Tanzania's fintech ecosystem is predominantly led by homegrown companies. Of the 155 core fintech providers identified, 99 originate from Tanzania, representing 63.9% and reflecting a vibrant domestic startup market. These are followed by companies from Kenya (16 companies, 10.3% share), Nigeria (9 ventures, 5.8% share), and the UK (7 companies, 4.5% share). This distribution underscores Tanzania's attractiveness as a market for fintech firms. Other countries with a presence include the US (4 companies), South Africa (4), Uganda (3), China (3), India (2), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (2), as well as Ghana, Hong Kong, Ivory Coast, Singapore, and Uruguay, each with one pure-play fintech company.

Several prominent foreign ventures also serve the Tanzanian market. Flutterwave, a US-headquartered company, provides payment infrastructure across Africa and is valued at US$3.2 billion. Thunes, based in Singapore, enables real-time payments in over 140 countries and more than 90 currencies, serving global businesses like Uber and WeChat. dLocal, a fintech startup from Uruguay, specializes in cross-border payments across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Boku, a UK-headquartered mobile payment company, offers local payment methods in over 60 countries and jurisdictions.