Digital finance in Mozambique: A new era for financial services
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Loading... - Deladem Allotey
- 22 Aug 2022
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Digital finance is the term used to describe the impact of new technologies on the financial services industry. It includes a variety of products, applications, processes and business models that have transformed the way that banking and financial services are traditionally provided and it is usually delivered by fintech companies.
Although technological innovation in banking and finance is not new, the growing investment in new technologies has substantially increased the pace of innovation in recent years, which in turn has resulted in an equally substantial growth in demand for new banking and financial services solutions.
Mozambique has followed the evolution of digital finance in a very particular way. It is important to bear in mind the African context, which has seen a booming fintech sector, especially in countries like South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya – the three African countries with the most developed fintech ecosystems.
Many analysts have identified this sector as one of the most critical for the continent’s post-pandemic recovery – particularly the adoption of digital payment methods. Therefore there is an expectation for this fast-moving sector to move even quicker and, as of May 2022, African fintech companies have raised around $2 billion. However, for this transformation to take effect, regulators and government will need to come up with solutions that allow the development of digital finance tools.
Here we look at the Mozambican reality in terms of regulation as well as services provided through digital finance. We also discuss the impact of these new ways of providing financial services on the wider population; this especially important in Mozambique where the majority of the population lives in the rural areas and only 30% of it currently has access to electricity. Read More...
