African BNPL Has a Retail Margin Problem Nobody Wants to Name
Kenya
Financial Services
The African BNPL market is projected to grow to USD 16.8 billion by 2031. The growth projections assume that African BNPL operators can earn the same kind of margins their American and European counterparts do. Our view, shared by several founders who have built and scaled BNPL operations in African markets, is that those unit economics will not work on the continent without structural changes to the business model. Here is why.
The growth projections for African buy-now-pay-later are impressive. The Q1 2026 Africa BNPL Databook forecasts the market will grow from approximately USD 5.2 billion in 2025 to approximately USD 16.8 billion by 2031, at a compound annual growth rate above 20 percent. Lipa Later has partnered with Mastercard across fo...
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