Mobile Money Stock Trading Africa: When Telcos Turn 500M Users Into Investors

Les Africanistes
Nov 21, 2025
4 min read

Safaricom turned stock trading into a mobile money feature. MTN Nigeria followed with a USSD code that lets you check stock holdings from a Nokia 3310.

While traditional brokerages spent decades keeping Africans OUT of capital markets with high fees and red tape, telcos did the opposite; they gave 1.1 billion Africans mobile wallets. Now they're turning those wallets into brokerage accounts.

The infrastructure exists:

1.1 billion registered mobile money accounts across Africa
514 million active monthly users across Africa
$1.68 trillion flowing through mobile wallets annually (2024)
But only 0.14% of Kenyans with mobile wallets actively trade stocks

What's been missing is the bridge between mobile money and capital markets. That bridge is being built right now.

The Super App Race: What Each Telco Offers

Africa's telcos are racing to become financial super apps, and stock trading is the latest battleground.

Safaricom leads with the most integrated ecosystem:

M-Pesa: In Kenya has 35.8 million monthly active users, 90% market share
Ziidi Money Market Fund: High-yield savings launched 2024
Ziidi Trader: Full stock trading inside M-Pesa (pilot launched November 2024)
Bima: Insurance distribution
Fuliza & M-Shwari: Credit and overdraft facilities

MTN is testing cautiously:

MoMo: Mobile payments across multiple African markets
*7270# (Nigeria): USSD code for viewing stock portfolios—no smartphone or internet needed (launched May 2025)
Status: Information only. Not trading yet.
Also offers: MoMo savings, loans, aYo microinsurance

Key insight: Safaricom offers the most integrated financial ecosystem. MTN is testing stock market access cautiously (information only, not trading yet). Orange and Airtel focus on payments, savings, and credit, but haven't moved into capital markets.

Why Safaricom and MTN first? Kenya has Africa's most mature mobile money ecosystem (18 years of M-Pesa). Nigeria has Africa's largest population and regulators actively pushing digital access. This is market readiness, not exceptional risk-taking. If these pilots succeed, expect Orange and Airtel to follow quickly.

The Mobile Money Stock Trading Infrastructure Stack

Mobile access is just layer one. For this to succeed at scale:

1. Financial Literacy Infrastructure

In-app education modules (Safaricom's Ziidi has this)
Partnerships with schools, universities, fintechs for mass education
Simple risk communication before first trades

2. Market Infrastructure

More listed companies (Kenya: 60, Nigeria: 170 vs. NYSE: 2,400+)
Market makers ensuring liquidity
Shortened settlement cycles (Kenya moved to T+3, needs T+1 or T+0)

3. Regulatory Infrastructure

Clear rules on telco-as-broker arrangements
Consumer protection for retail investors
Cross-border trading frameworks (AfCFTA opportunity)

4. Technology Infrastructure

Real-time price feeds
Instant settlement via mobile money
Fraud detection and KYC compliance

Without these four layers working together, you get high sign-ups but low sustained participation.

The Big Question: Should One Company Control It All?

Safaricom now controls:

90% of Kenya's mobile money (M-Pesa)
Money market funds (Ziidi MMF)
Stock trading (Ziidi Trader)
Insurance distribution (Bima)
Credit (Fuliza, M-Shwari)

Is this innovation or concentration risk?

In May 2025, a formal complaint was filed with Kenya's Competition Authority alleging Safaricom gives Ziidi zero-rated M-Pesa access (free transactions) while competing funds like Cytonn and Etica pay KES 5-108 per transaction; potentially anti-competitive behavior.

Global Parallels: When Super Apps Face Regulatory Pressure

China - Ant Financial (Alipay):

What happened: 2020 IPO blocked, forced to restructure as financial holding company
Current status: Still operates but under banking-level supervision
Key change: Separated payments from credit/investment, increased capital requirements

India - Paytm:

What happened: 2024 Reserve Bank banned Paytm Payments Bank (not the entire app)
Current status: Paytm app still works for payments, but lost banking license
Key change: Can no longer accept deposits; existing users withdrew funds

The lesson for Africa: Regulators don't necessarily shut down super apps, they force compliance with financial institution rules or require service separation. M-Pesa is only regulated by Kenya's Central Bank as a licensed Payment Service Provider. But the debate now is: should it be regulated as a bank?

With $309B in annual transactions (2.5x Kenya's entire GDP), 35.8 million active customers, and services spanning payments, credit, investments, and insurance: M-Pesa performs core banking functions with just Payment Service Provider's capital requirements. By comparison, banks must hold (50x -500x higher).

The question: When does M-Pesa stop being a telco service and start being a bank that needs Central Bank supervision?

The Bottom Line

The infrastructure is ready. The opportunity is massive:

If 10% of 514M active mobile wallet users invest $1,000 each = $51 billion in fresh capital
New funding pathways for startups, SMEs, governments
Diaspora investment channels ($100B annual remittances redirected)

But success isn't guaranteed. It requires:

Financial literacy at scale
Liquid, deep markets
Regulatory clarity on telco-finance boundaries
Consumer protections

The bridge is being built. The question is whether the ecosystem is ready for 50 million people to walk across it.

About Les Africanistes: We provide market intelligence and business insights for companies operating across African markets, combining local expertise with global investment perspectives. If you are seeking more personalised insights or new partners in Africa.

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Sources:

Safaricom H1 FY2025 Financial Results, November 2024
Safaricom Annual Report FY2024, May 2024
TechCabal, "Safaricom Ziidi on the spot over anti-competitive behaviour," June 17, 2025
TechCabal, "Why Safaricom is spending $309mn annually to future-proof M-Pesa," May 6, 2025
Capital Business, "Safaricom faces antitrust complaint over exclusive M-Pesa deal with Ziidi Fund," June 4, 2025
Tech with Muchiri, "M-Pesa charges and rates for 2025," July 13, 2025
Central Bank of Kenya, National Payment Systems Act, 2011
Central Bank of Kenya, E-Money Regulations, 2013
National Payment Systems Regulations, 2014
Central Bank of Kenya, National Payments Strategy 2022-2025
Business Laws (Amendment) Act, 2024, Kenya
GSMA State of Mobile Money Report 2024/2025
World Bank Kenya GDP data, 2024
Communications Authority of Kenya Q1 2025 Report
Reuters, reporting on Ant Financial regulatory restructuring, 2020-2021
Bloomberg, reporting on Paytm banking restrictions, 2024
Reserve Bank of India regulatory actions on Paytm Payments Bank, 2024
Multiple sources on MTN Nigeria *7270# USSD stock portfolio viewing launch, May 2025