MTN’s Fintech Arm Hits $1B Valuation—IPO Plans Ahead

3 mins.

Author

Elly Ngoma
July 22, 2025

The Banking Analyst: MTN’s Fintech Arm Hits $1B Valuation—IPO Plans Ahead

For banking & fintech leaders bridging global innovation
July 22–26, 2024 | 6-minute read

🔥 This Week’s Golden Nuggets

1. MTN MoMo Joins Africa’s Fintech Unicorn Club—IPO Next?

Why it matters: MTN’s fintech arm, MoMo, just hit a $1B valuation, becoming Africa’s latest fintech unicorn. With 70M+ users across 15+ markets, it’s now eyeing an IPO to fuel expansion and take on rivals like M-Pesa and Airtel Money.

MTN Momo by the numbers

The MoMo Empire by the Numbers

Metric

MoMo (MTN)

M-Pesa (Safaricom)

Airtel Money

Users

70M+

60M+

38M+

Markets

15+

7

14

2023 Revenue

$1.2B

$1.1B

$700M

Valuation

$1B+

$3B+ (Vodacom deal)

$500M (est.)

Key moves:

  • Expanding beyond payments: Launched MoMo loans (disbursed $500M in 2023).

  • CBDC partnerships: Piloting Nigeria’s cNGN for cross-border trade.

  • IPO plans: Targeting 2025 listing—could be Africa’s biggest fintech debut.

Be smart: Watch Nigeria & South Africa—MTN’s largest markets, where regulatory shifts (e.g., Nigeria’s crypto crackdown) could impact growth.

2. The African Mobile Money Wars: Who’s Winning?

MTN’s unicorn status heats up the battle for Africa’s $1T mobile money market.

Competitor Snapshots

Player

Latest Move

Edge

M-Pesa

Vodacom’s $3B valuation deal

Dominates East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania)

Airtel Money

Partnered with WorldRemit for int’l remittances

Strong in Francophone Africa

Orange Money

Launched micro-insurance in 8 markets

Deep EU banking ties

PalmPay

Raised $300M from Saudi investors

Nigeria’s fastest-growing

Regulatory wildcard:

  • Nigeria’s new digital tax (3% on transactions) could dent margins.

  • Ghana’s e-levy already cut mobile money volumes by 30%.

Bottom line: Consolidation is coming—expect acquisitions as players fight for scale.

3. IPO or Strategic Sale? MTN’s Next Move

MTN’s CEO, Ralph Mupita, hinted at a 2025 IPO, but a strategic sale (like Vodacom’s M-Pesa deal) isn’t off the table.

Potential suitors:

  • Visa/Mastercard: Seeking deeper African fintech roots.

  • Saudi’s STC Pay: Expanding aggressively into Africa.

  • Chinese giants (Ant Group, Tencent): Eyeing African digital finance.

IPO hurdles:

  • Market volatility: Nigeria’s inflation at 28%, rand under pressure.

  • Regulatory risks: Ghana’s e-levy, Nigeria’s crypto crackdown.

Be smart: Pre-IPO investments (like Mastercard’s $200M in MTN in 2021) could surge ahead of listing.

⚖️ Policy Watch

Development

Impact

Nigeria bans unlicensed crypto exchanges

Could push users to mobile money alternatives.

Kenya’s 3% digital tax

May slow fintech adoption—M-Pesa volumes dipped.

Ghana’s e-levy review

Govt considers rate cut after mobile money slump.

🚀 The Scoop

  • Flutterwave x Token.io: Open banking rollout in 10 African markets.

  • Stripe launches in Kenya: Now supports M-Pesa payouts.

  • Worldcoin pauses Kenya ops after data privacy backlash.

🌟 Startup Spotlight: Pezesha

  • Who: Kenyan SME lender using mobile wallet data for credit scoring.

  • Edge: 89% approval rate for women-owned businesses.

  • Backers: Saudi’s Vision Ventures, Accion Venture Lab.

👀 What to Watch

  1. MTN’s IPO timeline—will it list in Johannesburg or Lagos?

  2. M-Pesa’s next move—could Safaricom expand beyond Africa?

  3. Stablecoin vs. mobile money—will Visa/Yellow Card disrupt MoMo?

🧰 Toolkit

+ This

A Ugandan farmer receives MoMo loans, pays suppliers via Flutterwave, and buys solar panels with Pezesha credit—Africa’s fintech ecosystem is live. 🌍💸

Reply for our MTN MoMo IPO Deep Dive—15 slides of key risks & opportunities.

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