Building Africa’s Largest Integrated Financial Platform

Serigne Dioum, CEO of MTN Group Fintech, aims to transform the telecom giant’s massive subscriber base into one of Africa’s leading digital financial ecosystems. With over 317 million mobile subscribers and currently 70 million monthly active MoMo users across 14 markets, Dioum’s strategy focuses on deepening engagement rather than seeking entirely new customers.

Leveraging Existing Strengths in Key Markets

Dioum highlighted Nigeria and South Africa as anchor growth markets. While MoMo penetration is already high outside these two countries, the imperative is to expand utility for existing MTN users by enabling a wider range of financial services—from payments and remittances to savings and digital identity.

In Nigeria, where market opportunity remains significant, MTN has upgraded its technology stack and appointed Bode Abifarin as Managing Director and CEO of MoMo Payment Service Bank. The focus is on broadening regulatory licenses and aligning telecom and fintech operations more closely.

South Africa presents a different challenge—high banking penetration yet persistent cash usage. Dioum views this not as an obstacle but as an opportunity to leverage evolving payment infrastructure and compete with established players.