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AfricaNovember 4 2021

Leapfrog and scale: the rise of fintech in Africa

Fintech investments on the African continent exceeded $1.35bn last year. The question now is whether a lack of incumbent legacy systems can help propel the sector further.
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Leapfrog and scale: the rise of fintech in Africa

It is a familiar story: an expensive legacy infrastructure creates friction, but new market entrants avoid this and quickly surpass incumbents.

History has many examples: the UK was the birthplace of rail transport but around the globe, other rail services are far superior if we measure relative quality, speed and affordability. Imagine starting again with a blank sheet of paper to redesign our power supply and water distribution systems – so many improvements could be made.

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