• GSMA, African operators set $30–$40 4G smartphone standard
• Coalition urges tax cuts, bulk orders to lower device costs
• Affordable smartphones key to bridging Africa’s digital divide

The GSMA, the global telecom industry body, and six major African mobile operators, including Orange, are joining forces to expand smartphone access across the continent. On Tuesday, Oct. 21, at the Mobile World Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, the coalition announced a basic technical standard for affordable 4G smartphones. The standard defines key components such as memory, screen, battery, and camera, aiming to ensure a reliable and durable 4G experience at a target price between $30 and $40.

According to the GSMA, the physical components of a smartphone—the screen, processor, memory, radio, and battery—account for 50% to 70% of its total cost. The group says lasting price cuts require optimizing component costs, achieving economies of scale through mass production, and streamlining expenses such as patents, logistics, and distribution margins.

Standardization is central to this approach: by allowing all carriers to order the same model, component suppliers can lower prices for large orders. The GSMA hopes to consolidate demand around a single design, giving manufacturers confidence to produce at scale and cut costs.

In the coming months, the GSMA plans to work with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and tech firms to define the core requirements and gain their support for affordable 4G devices.

To make this vision a reality, the coalition is focusing on two main strategies. In the coming months, the GSMA plans to work with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and tech firms to define the core requirements and gain their support for affordable 4G devices. At the same time, it is urging African governments to cut taxes on smartphones priced below $100. South Africa, for example, removed excise duties on phones costing under 2,500 rand ($136) in March 2025 to make devices more affordable for low-income households.

The GSMA notes that in some countries, VAT and import duties can raise handset prices by more than 30%, pushing up costs for consumers and slowing digital inclusion. “Access to a smartphone is not a luxury – it is a lifeline to essential services, income opportunities and participation in the digital economy,” said GSMA Director General Vivek Badrinath. “By uniting around a shared vision for affordable 4G devices, Africa’s leading operators and the GSMA are sending a strong signal to manufacturers and policymakers. This is an important step toward bridging the digital divide and enabling millions more people to benefit from mobile connectivity.”

For Africa, the main obstacle to mobile service access is no longer network coverage but handset cost.

For Africa, the main obstacle to mobile service access is no longer network coverage but handset cost. Over the past decade, operators have invested heavily to extend coverage. As a result, by 2024, the continent’s mobile coverage reached 86% for 3G, 71% for 4G, and 11% for 5G, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Yet only 52% of Africans were connected to mobile broadband.

GSMA Intelligence estimates that a $40 smartphone could bring another 20 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa online, while a $30 device could connect up to 50 million more.

The GSMA defines affordability as a price equivalent to 15–20% of average monthly income. The World Bank estimates that in low- and middle-income countries, an entry-level smartphone costs about 18% of a typical adult’s monthly income—but this rises to 73% for the poorest 40% of households in Sub-Saharan Africa.

For telecom operators, making smartphones more affordable is strategically vital: it means a broader internet user base and higher data revenue.

Beyond technology and tax policy, genuine smartphone accessibility requires a mix of measures to ease entry and promote lasting use.

Beyond technology and tax policy, genuine smartphone accessibility requires a mix of measures to ease entry and promote lasting use. Financing is key: offering installment payments through operators or microcredit adapted to irregular incomes, with clear pricing and insurance, makes devices easier to obtain. After-sales service also matters: a local repair network, available spare parts, and capped prices extend device lifespans, reduce waste, and protect consumers’ budgets.

Building digital skills is equally important. Many still see smartphones as a luxury simply because they don’t know how to use them. Training users on basic features improves autonomy and increases the perceived value of the device relative to its cost.

Combined, these factors make a smartphone a genuine investment — a tool for work, education, and access to essential services. To sustain this progress, policymakers and industry must design end-to-end solutions — from purchase to maintenance — ensuring smartphones become a lasting driver of digital inclusion.

Muriel Edjo

Orange is leveraging the momentum of mobile payments to normalize digital gold trading. Given gold’s role as a hedge against inflation and currency volatility in Egypt, embedding it in mobile wallets could significantly expand retail participation in the gold market.

Orange Egypt has launched a platform for buying and selling gold via mobile wallets. The telecom company announced today, September 25. The platform was launched in partnership with mnGm, Egypt’s specialized online gold trading company.

“By introducing Egypt’s first digital gold trading platform, we are redefining mobile wallets,” said Ahmed El Abd, Chief Consumer Business Officer of Orange Egypt. “We want wallets to be full financial tools—letting customers save, invest, and diversify.”

Orange says customers can buy and sell gold via the My Orange app and Orange Cash Wallet, starting from as little as EGP 5. To drive adoption, Orange offers up to EGP 100 cashback on the first monthly gold purchase of EGP 500 or more, redeemable toward mobile bills, recharges, or bundles.

The user experience is fully digital—customers register once with their wallet PIN and national ID, pick the gold amount they want, confirm via SMS, and complete payment instantly through Orange Cash.

The move taps into a major shift in Egypt’s digital payments landscape. Mobile wallet transactions in Q2 2025 alone reached EGP 943.4 billion (USD 19.63 billion), rising 72% year-on-year, according to the National Telecom Regulatory Authority. Active e-wallet accounts in Egypt surged to 46.3 million, a 29% increase from the previous year.

This is a strategic expansion of Orange’s fintech presence. By embedding gold trading into its wallet ecosystem, Orange deepens customer engagement, strengthens loyalty, and unlocks new revenue channels beyond telecom services.

In a digital payments market projected to reach USD 184.31 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 16.76% during the forecast period (2025-2030), per Research and Markets data, the timing could provide Orange with critical leverage over competitors.

Hikmatu Bilali

Driven by the rapid growth of mobile phones, Africa has transformed the device into a powerful banking tool. Millions of people who were previously excluded from the financial system now have access to transfer, savings, and payment services. This profound and quiet shift is reshaping economies and challenging traditional financial models.

Over the past 15 years, mobile money has become one of the most transformative forces in Africa’s financial system. The service, which allows people to send, receive, and store money with a mobile phone, has reshaped financial habits across the continent.

Traditional banking still struggles to reach many Africans—57% of the population had no bank account in 2021, according to the report Digital Banking in Sub-Saharan Africa by BPC and Fincog. Mobile money has filled much of that gap, expanding at a rapid pace.

Launched in Kenya in 2007, the service counted 57 million subscribers in sub-Saharan Africa by 2012. By 2021, the figure had risen to 621 million. In 2024, Africa reached 1.1 billion registered accounts, representing 53% of the global total, and processed 81 billion transactions worth $1.1 trillion, or 66% of worldwide value, according to GSMA.

What began as a simple money transfer tool has become a major industry. Mobile money now drives growth, expands financial inclusion, and creates socio-economic opportunities. From Nairobi to Dakar, Abidjan to Lagos, mobile phones have become pocket banks, reshaping access to financial services and making a measurable contribution to GDP and daily life.

Economic weight

The impact is no longer marginal. GSMA data show that in 2023, the combined GDP of countries offering mobile money services was $720 billion higher than it would have been without them. In sub-Saharan Africa, the sector’s direct contribution rose from $150 billion in 2022 to $190 billion in 2023. Regional disparities remain, but the overall trend is one of deepening economic influence.

Source: GSMA

“Mobile money had a greater impact on the GDP of West African countries than elsewhere on the continent. This is evident when comparing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (Figure 12). In Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Senegal and Liberia, mobile money contributed more than 5% to GDP. In East Africa, mobile money contributed more than 5% to the GDPs of Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. Elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, mobile money’s contribution to GDP has been mixed. In Central Africa, Cameroon, Congo and Gabon each saw a contribution between 5% and 8%. In Southern Africa, where mobile money is less established, contributions to GDP generally remain lower than 5%. As mobile money use grows across Sub‑Saharan Africa, its impact on national GDP may also rise over time”.

Tangible social impact

Beyond the macroeconomic figures, mobile money is changing lives. In Mali, startup OKO, working with Orange Money, has helped more than 41,000 farmers buy index insurance against climate shocks. In Ethiopia, partnerships between Lersha, Telebirr, and M-PESA provide group loans and crop insurance to strengthen food security. In East Africa, pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar kits, paid for via mobile, are accelerating rural electrification.

These examples show why GSMA links mobile money to 15 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, from poverty reduction and gender equality to education access.

The service has expanded far beyond transfers. Today, Africans can save directly from their phones, access credit, buy insurance, pay school fees and utility bills, and make merchant payments. This diversification has effectively turned mobile phones into pocket-sized banks for populations often living far from traditional branches. In 2024, every region of Africa recorded growth in mobile money usage.

Regional Growth in Africa (2024)

Source: Ecofin Agency

Market leaders

The rise of mobile money has spurred heavy investment from telecom operators, with a few clear leaders now dominating the market.

Orange

Launched in Côte d’Ivoire in 2008, Orange Money has grown into one of Africa’s biggest financial inclusion platforms, with 40 million active users and €164 billion in transactions recorded in 2024. The service, now present across 16 African markets, processes 25 million transactions a day.

Speaking at GITEX Morocco on April 15, 2025, Jérôme Hénique, then CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa, said the value of Orange Money transactions more than doubled between 2021 and 2024, rising from €46 billion to €164 billion. The platform now channels up to €700 million in transfers each month. Orange has also expanded into savings and credit through Orange Bank Africa, which counted 1.7 million customers in 2024, alongside partnerships with local banks in markets where its own bank is absent.

MTN

MTN’s mobile money service has also expanded rapidly. By 2024, MTN MoMo reported over 63 million active monthly users across 14 of its 16 markets. Customers executed more than 20 billion transactions worth over $320 billion, according to the company. Like Orange Money, MTN MoMo offers a full suite of financial services including payments, e-commerce, insurance, loans, and money transfers.

Airtel Africa

Bharti Airtel’s African subsidiary reported 38 million Airtel Money customers in 2024, up 20.7% year-on-year across 14 markets. The platform offers money transfers, wallet payments, microloans, savings, and international remittances. It generated $837 million in revenue in 2024, a 32.8% increase at constant exchange rates compared with $692 million in 2023.

Vodacom Group

Vodacom, including its Safaricom unit, reported 87.7 million mobile financial services customers for the fiscal year ending March 2025. Its VodaCash and M-Pesa platforms, active across eight markets, processed $450.8 billion in transactions during the year, up 18.3%. Financial services revenue rose 17.6% on a normalized basis, representing 11.6% of group service revenue. Safaricom alone generated 22.6 billion rand from financial services.

M-Pesa, the cornerstone of Safaricom’s business in Kenya and Ethiopia, recorded revenue of 161.1 billion Kenyan shillings ($1.2 billion) from 37.1 million users.

Obstacles ahead

Despite mobile money’s sweeping impact on Africa’s economies and millions of lives, several challenges continue to hold back its full potential.

One is the persistent mobile ownership gap. In low- and middle-income countries, women are still 8% less likely than men to own a phone—a prerequisite for using mobile financial services. The gap varies by country: in Ethiopia, more than one-third of women still lack a handset.

The gender divide also extends to mobile money account ownership. GSMA data show that in most countries surveyed in 2023, little or no progress was made in narrowing the gap in 2024. In some, the divide has stagnated for a third straight year. In Senegal, account ownership is now almost universal for men, but more than a quarter of women remain excluded. Nigeria showed modest improvement: the gender gap shrank from 46% to 41%, with account ownership rising among both men and women in 2024.

Low levels of digital financial literacy also limit the use of advanced mobile money features. GSMA noted that in 2024, gender gaps persisted even for basic services such as deposits, withdrawals, and peer-to-peer transfers, as well as for ecosystem transactions and related financial products.

Among adults who had used mobile money, women in nearly every surveyed country were less likely than men to rely on the service. In Senegal, only 5% of women reported receiving wages or salary payments through mobile money, compared with 16% of men. In Nigeria, just 25% of women said they received client payments this way, against 41% of men. In Kenya, half of women respondents had made a merchant payment by phone, compared with two-thirds of men.

Source : GSMA

As global financial ecosystems become increasingly interconnected, the risk of fraud has risen. In many countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, mobile money has been affected by identity theft, insider fraud, cyberattacks, and fraud by agents. GSMA notes that each threat breaks down into specific types, such as social engineering, man-in-the-middle attacks, and malware.

Yet responses remain uneven. According to GSMA, more than 70% of mobile money providers say law enforcement is ineffective in tackling fraud due to limited technical skills, insufficient resources, and corruption. Regulators, meanwhile, are seen as only moderately supportive in the fight against mobile money crime.

An industry set to carry more weight

Mobile money is now recognized as a structural driver of Africa’s development. No longer just a tool for inclusion, it has become an integrated industry able to generate revenue, strengthen household resilience, and support strategic sectors such as agriculture and energy.

With transactions surpassing $1 trillion in 2024, mobile money has cemented itself as a pillar of Africa’s digital economy. Its future will rest on two priorities: achieving full international interoperability to make cross-border transfers seamless between telecom operators, and building greater trust through stronger regulation and tighter fraud prevention.

Muriel Edjo