Market Analysis on B2B International Payments solutions to and from Africa

B2B payments in Sub-Saharan Africa represent a $ 1.5 trillion market, according to the World Bank. However, the process of making and receiving payments remains largely manual, which makes it expensive and highly inefficient for businesses. Invoices are also not standardized and they are typically issued and received manually, which increases the administrative burden on business owners, taking more time and effort that can be invested into their businesses

• Opportunity - There is a compelling case for a financial solution that provides a safe and secure marketplace where small to medium businesses can exchange currencies with each other and have their payments made through a central counterparty that is regulated (like VertoFX). Once a certain level of trust is achieved in the ecosystem, adoption should be seamless since most of these businesses are already familiar with and use existing marketplaces such as Alibaba and eBay.
• According to the World Bank, mobile money is the fastest-growing route to financial inclusion across Africa: while the share of adults with bank accounts in sub-Saharan Africa has remained flat, the number of those using mobile money have increased by over 20 percent.
• Any solution that removes all of the infrastructure pain points that have nothing to do with  businesses seeking to make international payments, will be successful in African fintech market. Current solutions from incumbents such as banks and more recent digital challengers are costly and lack transparency. 
• Weakness – Adoption of the new payment solution and ecosystem, reaching out to as many SMEs’, spreading awareness and educating customers/ businesses.
• Challenges- Meeting Financial Regulations, working in partnership with international banks and financial institutions, Fraudulent and Risk Management, Secured transactions, building trust, expanding to as many exotic/ illiquid currencies and countries as possible.