In sub-Saharan Africa, mobile phones have become much more than just a means of communication. They now serve as a gateway to financial services for millions of people. Over the past decade, access to financial accounts has increased significantly, but behind this progress lie deep disparities between countries and between men and women.
According to the World Bank’s Global Findex 2025, financial inclusion increased from 34% of adults having an account in 2014 to 58% in 2024. This progress was largely driven by mobile money, which enables millions of people to carry out transactions without relying on the traditional banking network. In 2024, 40% of adults in the region held a mobile money account, the highest rate in the world.
In less than a decade, it has made a significant contribution to the rapid growth of financial inclusion in sub-Saharan African countries and continues to play a major role in the economies of these countries.
NGOLLE III LIONEL RAYNALD, International Trade and Economic Diplomacy Expert
However, this progress remains highly uneven. Kenya has the highest account ownership rate at 90%, followed by Mauritius at 89%, and South Africa and Ghana at 81% each. By contrast, only 14% of adults in Niger have an account, compared with 20% in Chad and 24% in Madagascar. The gender gap also remains significant: in 2024, 52% of women had a financial account, compared with 64% of men, representing a 12-percentage-point difference. The challenge now is to transform this growing access into genuine economic participation.
In other words, mobile money has today become a fully-fledged economic platform, enabling many African citizens to access a wide range of financial services at a lower cost, regardless of their geographical location.
NGOLLE III LIONEL RAYNALD, International Trade and Economic Diplomacy Expert
With 58% of adults financially included in 2024, sub-Saharan Africa has made significant progress over the past decade. But with persistent disparities between countries and a continuing gender gap, the next challenge will be to make digital finance a genuine driver of growth and inclusion for all.
