By Racheal Nagawa | Senior Reporter, Business Express
Mastercard has expanded its acceptance network across Africa by 45% in 2025, a milestone that brings millions of consumers and small businesses into the continent’s rapidly growing digital economy. The surge reflects accelerated investment in digital payments infrastructure, product innovation, and financial inclusion programs, positioning Africa’s digital economy for long-term growth.
“Our focus has been on solutions that bring people and small businesses into the heart of the digital economy,” said Mark Elliott, Mastercard’s Division President for Africa.
Expanding Footprint Across the Continent
Over the past two years, Mastercard has deepened its African presence, opening new offices in Ghana, Uganda, and Mauritius, with additional markets slated for launch in 2026. The company also increased its African workforce by nearly 20%, enhancing local capabilities and enabling co-creation of tailored digital payment solutions.
Mastercard invested in key digital infrastructure including tokenization, digital identity, and virtual card solutions, strengthening trust, convenience, and security across online and in-person payments.
SMEs at the Core of Africa’s Digital Economy
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are central to Mastercard’s strategy. Across major African markets, consumer spending is rising—Kenya 4%, Morocco 3.4%, Nigeria 6%, South Africa 1.9%—driving demand for digital payment tools that allow SMEs to pay and get paid efficiently, access credit, and operate securely.
Products include tap-on-phone payments, Mastercard Payment Gateway System (MPGS) for e-commerce, QR payment solutions, POS systems, and virtual card issuance.
Through pan-African collaborations with banks, telcos, and government entities, Mastercard has launched 15 SME-focused programs in the last 18 months, enabling seamless cross-border payments, credit access, and digital marketplaces. Key initiatives include:
- South Africa: Unlocking growth for thousands of SMEs through financial inclusion programs, addressing access-to-credit constraints.
- Morocco: Co-developing the country’s first digital marketplace with BCP and the Ministry of Handicrafts, benefiting 2.3 million artisans.
- Nigeria: Launching QR-on-card solutions with UBA and WEMA, enabling 1.8 million SMEs and gig workers to accept payments; supporting cross-border trade for 50,000+ SMEs via Zenith Bank USD cards.
- Kenya, Mauritius, and Tanzania: Partnerships with NMB, AfrAsia, Family Bank, and KCB empowering 200,000+ SMEs with digital solutions.
Driving Financial Inclusion in Rural Communities
Mastercard’s Community Pass initiative targets underserved and rural populations, connecting them to digital services, governments, NGOs, and private-sector opportunities. The program aims to register 15 million users in Africa within five years, reaching 1.2 million smallholder farmers in Uganda to date.
Through the Mobilizing Access to the Digital Economy (MADE) Alliance, Mastercard aims to extend digital services to 100 million individuals and businesses by 2034. In Kenya, MADE has already:
- Provided affordable internet and digital training to 10,000+ farmers across 13 cooperatives.
- Digitized profiles of 80,000+ farmers through Farm Pass deployment.
- Built capacity for 250,000 farmers via local cooperative partners.
Preparing for the AI-Driven Digital Leap
Looking ahead, Mastercard plans to leverage AI and agentic commerce to accelerate Africa’s next digital era. The African AI market is projected to reach $16.5 billion by 2030, offering new opportunities for financial inclusion, cross-border trade, and digital services.
“East Africa continues to lead the world in digital financial inclusion,” said Shehryar Ali, SVP & Country Manager for East Africa & Indian Ocean Islands. “This year we scaled cross-border solutions, virtual cards, and acceptance growth to enable more trusted digital engagement.”
Mastercard’s expansion signals a transformative moment for Africa’s $1.5 trillion digital payments market by 2030, enabling SMEs, consumers, and rural communities to access financial services securely and efficiently.
About the Author
Racheal Nagawa is Senior Reporter at Business Express Magazine, covering fintech, banking, and digital innovation across Africa. She specializes in financial inclusion, technology adoption, and macroeconomic trends shaping the continent’s digital economy.
