One map: the human last mile beats the branch.: Against roughly 6 bank branches and 13 ATMs for the same 100,000 people.

About 340 mobile-money agents for every 100,000 African adults.. Against roughly 6 bank branches and 13 ATMs for the same 100,000 people.

One map: the human last mile beats the branch.: A shopkeeper with a float and a phone is the bank branch, on the corner where you already are.

The counter is a person, not a building.. A shopkeeper with a float and a phone is the bank branch, on the corner where you already are.

One map: the human last mile beats the branch.: The network grew a fifth in a single year, and the bulk of that growth was sub-Saharan.

28 million agents now, most of them added in Africa.. The network grew a fifth in a single year, and the bulk of that growth was sub-Saharan.

capsrow / Africa

Invisible Giant

One map: the human last mile beats the branch.

One map explains how Africa banked itself without branches.

By capsrow · Updated July 2026

About 340 mobile-money agents for every 100,000 African adults.Against roughly 6 bank branches and 13 ATMs for the same 100,000 people.
The counter is a person, not a building.A shopkeeper with a float and a phone is the bank branch, on the corner where you already are.
28 million agents now, most of them added in Africa.The network grew a fifth in a single year, and the bulk of that growth was sub-Saharan.

One map explains how Africa banked itself without branches.

For every 100,000 African adults there are about 340 mobile-money agents - and only about 6 bank branches. The counter is a person, not a building: a shopkeeper with a float and a phone, on the corner where you already are. Some 28 million agents now run this last mile, most of them added across sub-Saharan Africa.

When the branch never came, the neighbourhood became the branch.

Sources. Source: GSMA State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money, 2024.