MTN Eyes Nigeria MSME $236bn Credit Gap Opportunity

MTN Group is accelerating plans to expand its fintech operations in Nigeria as it positions its mobile-money business to tap into the country’s estimated $236 billion small business credit gap, even as it restructures its African fintech arm for strategic investors and potential lending licences.

The Johannesburg-based telecoms giant is finalising the separation of its fintech units in Nigeria and Uganda, a structural shift designed to unlock minority investment from global partners, including Mastercard, and prepare the business for broader financial-services expansion across Africa’s fast-growing digital economy.

The restructuring is central to MTN’s ambition to evolve beyond payments into lending, merchant services and broader digital finance offerings in markets where millions of individuals and small businesses remain excluded from formal credit systems.

Nigeria remains the focal point of the strategy due to its population size, high reliance on cash transactions and a deep financing gap affecting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Industry estimates place the country’s MSME credit deficit at about $236 billion, underscoring the scale of unmet demand MTN is seeking to address.

MTN Group Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita said the separation process is complex and must be executed carefully to avoid eroding shareholder value while restructuring the fintech subsidiaries.

“The separations are complex as we have to minimise value leakage,” Mupita said, noting that the group is not constrained by any initial public offering (IPO) timeline but remains open to selling minority stakes of up to 30 percent in its fintech businesses.

The planned separation is also tied to MTN’s partnership with Mastercard, first announced in 2023, which is expected to bring in strategic investment and strengthen the company’s payments infrastructure across African markets.

In Nigeria, MTN is pursuing regulatory approvals for Payment Solution Service Provider and Payment Terminal Service Provider licences through its MoMo Payment Service Bank subsidiary.

If approved, the licences would expand its ability to process payments, deploy and manage point-of-sale (POS) infrastructure, and deepen merchant services within the country’s fast-growing digital payments ecosystem.

However, the Central Bank of Nigeria is still reviewing both the licensing applications and the proposed fintech separation, reflecting regulatory caution around the expansion of telecom operators into broader financial services.

MTN Fintech Chief Executive Officer Serigne Dioum said the company intends to move beyond its current model of facilitating credit through partners to directly lending in jurisdictions where regulations permit.

“Where appropriate, we will seek licences that allow us not only to facilitate loans but also to lend directly to customers and deploy our own balance sheet,” Dioum said.

This shift would significantly alter MTN’s fintech risk profile, moving it from transaction-based revenues into credit exposure, while also positioning it in direct competition with banks, digital lenders and emerging fintech platforms.

Across Africa, MTN estimates that only about 4–5 per cent of adults currently have access to formal credit, highlighting the structural financing gap that continues to constrain small business growth and household consumption.

In Nigeria, the challenge is particularly pronounced, with a large informal economy dominated by traders, transport operators and micro-enterprises that rely heavily on cash and informal lending channels to sustain operations.

The scale of MTN’s fintech ambitions is already evident. In 2025, its mobile-money platform processed approximately $500.3bn in transaction value across its markets, supported by 23.3 billion transactions and 69.5 million monthly active users.

These volumes place MTN among the largest digital financial infrastructure providers in Africa, underscoring the increasing convergence between telecommunications and financial services on the continent.

The company’s expansion strategy also comes amid intensifying competition in Africa’s mobile-money and digital payments space. Rivals include Airtel Africa’s Airtel Money unit, local fintech firms such as OPay and PalmPay, global payment networks, and infrastructure providers backed by firms such as Mastercard and China’s Ant Group.

MTN is also working with Ant Group’s Alipay to upgrade its MoMo ecosystem, with the aim of improving merchant services, platform efficiency and broader financial product integration.

Meanwhile, across the continent, Airtel Africa is preparing a potential listing of its mobile-money business, a move that could value the unit at up to $10bn, further signalling investor appetite for standalone fintech assets in Africa.

Regulators are expected to play a decisive role in shaping the sector’s trajectory. In Nigeria, authorities have maintained a cautious stance on telecom-led financial services to ensure consumer protection, financial stability and effective oversight of rapidly expanding digital payments systems.

If approvals are granted, MTN could significantly expand its footprint in payments, merchant acquiring, remittances and potentially direct lending.

If delayed, competitors may continue to consolidate their position in Africa’s fast-growing fintech landscape.

For MTN, the strategic direction is increasingly clear: to transform its mobile-money platform into a broader financial services ecosystem capable of capturing value across payments, credit and digital commerce in Africa’s underbanked markets.