Beyond Payments: Africa’s Next Fintech Wave Must Be About Wealth Creation – By Olamide Olayiwola
For years, payments have dominated Africa’s fintech story. Mobile money in East Africa. Agency banking, Wallets, transfers in Nigeria and Cross-border remittances for the diaspora. These innovations changed the game for millions of people who once had no access to formal financial systems can now send, receive, and store money digitally.
That’s progress worth celebrating. But payments only solved access. What Africa needs now is fintech that solves prosperity.
A wallet that only sends money is like a road that goes nowhere. It connects people, but it doesn’t help them move forward. If we want fintech to truly transform lives, it must go beyond transactions and focus on wealth creation and help people grow their income, build assets, and plan for the future.
At the center of this wealth-creation story is one thing: credit. Around the world, credit powers prosperity. Mortgages for families, loans for small businesses, student financing for education, capital for farmers and entrepreneurs.
In Africa, most people are locked out of these opportunities. Credit bureaus are fragmented, identity systems inconsistent, and lending data is either unavailable or unreliable. Without strong credit infrastructure, lenders either avoid risk or pass it down to borrowers in the form of crushing interest rates.
The result? Too many Africans are stuck with short-term “survival loans” that cover emergencies but do little to change their financial trajectory.
But imagine a different picture where affordable, longer-term credit is available at scale. Farmers using loans for tractors instead of just fertilizer. SMEs expanding their operations, not just covering rent. Families accessing mortgages and investing in education. That’s how credit becomes a growth engine, not just a survival tool.
Of course, this kind of infrastructure can’t be built by fintech alone. It requires regulators who don’t just police innovation but enable it.
When regulators establish clear standards for credit reporting, data sharing, and consumer protection, they create the trust that allows more people to participate in the system. We’ve seen how Nigeria’s BVN transformed identity verification. Now imagine a similar framework for credit that for one reduces fraud, increases transparency, and encourages responsible lending.
That’s the foundation Africa needs if fintech is going to move from payments to prosperity.
The Real Opportunity
Payments may have been fintech’s entry point, but the future belongs to those who build for wealth creation. The startups that will define the next decade aren’t the ones adding another wallet or transfer service. They’ll be the ones that design systems for credit, savings, investments, and insurance tools that help everyday Africans build assets and long-term security.
Fintech in Africa can’t stop at moving money. It must help people grow it. The real question is, are we content with solving access, or are we ready to build the infrastructure for prosperity?
About the Author
Olamide Olayiwola is a product leader and CTO of FLASHCHANGE in Africa’s fintech industry. He focuses on building user-centered products in digital assets and financial services, with a passion for trust, access, and sustainable innovation.
