The company notes that nearly 70% of Africa’s economy remains informal, with millions of small traders, cross‑border merchants and micro‑entrepreneurs relying almost entirely on cash.

This dependence, driven by limited access to traditional banking and digital infrastructure, exposes them to theft, financial loss, poor record‑keeping and long‑term exclusion from formal economic systems.

Speaking to Channel Africa on Tuesday, Mukuru Chief Executive Officer Andy Jury said the platform aims to bridge the divide between Africa’s formal and informal financial ecosystems.

“Our estimate is that somewhere between two‑thirds and 75% of payments and transactions in Africa still happen informally, over the counter, cash‑to‑cash and in an unregulated environment,” he explained. “It dwarfs the formal financial services ecosystem.”

Jury said Mukuru plays a critical role at “the intersection of the formal and informal financial services ecosystems”, offering first‑time financial access to people who have never held a bank account or used a digital financial product.

“Ninety‑five percent of our customers come to us having never touched a bank account,” he said. “All you need is a mobile phone and some form of identification. We take you on a journey that helps you send, store, spend and increasingly, borrow.”

As customers transact more, Jury said, they become more digitally confident, and their costs decrease due to better data profiles. This behavioural shift unlocks access to products such as small loans, insurance and digital wallets.

“There’s a massive unlock for those currently transacting informally, and for the businesses and partners who want to engage with the biggest part of Africa’s economy,” he said.

Jury said Mukuru’s approach begins with understanding the lived realities of informal entrepreneurs. “We put ourselves in the shoes of our customers,” he said. “We design products for their world.”

A major early barrier was cross‑border remittances: people often relied on taxis to move money across borders, a process that could take weeks, involve multiple informal fees, and sometimes fail entirely.

Mukuru now enables instant cross‑border payments using mobile phones. “We ensure that money gets to its destination instantly,” Jury said. “It’s affordable, secure, traceable, and customers always know where their money is.”

Jury illustrated how digital tools transform trading for cross‑border entrepreneurs:

A Zambian trader buying goods in Malawi previously needed to spend several days travelling, negotiating and transporting money. Now, digital payments allow the trader to:

• Pay instantly
• Avoid long trips
• Spend more time on production or sales
• Reduce risk and costs

“It’s an amazing flywheel,” Jury said. “People end up with more money in their back pocket to reinvest in what matters.”

Operating a single tech platform across 13 markets, Mukuru says it is building a seamless cross‑border financial ecosystem that works identically whether a customer is in Cape Town, Lilongwe or Nairobi.

Jury believes that as Africa accelerates digital adoption, fintech solutions could be transformative for millions of informal workers.

“This is the future, instant, seamless, secure payments,” he said. “And for entrepreneurs, that is a genuine game changer.”

–ChannelAfrica–