African Fintech Expansion: Why Startups are Moving to the GCC

Nigeria’s Innovate1Pay has run global operations from Dubai’s Jumeirah since 2019, and Lagos-based Flutterwave — one of Africa’s earliest fintech unicorns — is preparing to open a UAE office after expanding into Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in 2024. Other notable moves include Egypt’s MNT-Halan launching salary-financing products in Dubai and Paymob Technologies expanding across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman after securing a full UAE Central Bank license last year. Ghana-based Zeepay, which already operates in 25 countries, has identified the UAE as a primary entry point for a Gulf–Africa remittance corridor.

"For us, it’s a new chapter. We are eager to make an impact and become the remittance solution in the Gulf," said Kojo Amofa, Partnerships Manager at Zeepay. "Many migrant workers want to send money home, and the current volatility creates an even more drastic need that we want to answer."

Context and drivers

Fintech expansion from Africa into the Gulf is being driven by a high-value remittance corridor and growing investor interest. Researchers estimate between 3 million and 5 million African migrants now live and work across the Gulf Cooperation Council, including sizable Egyptian, Sudanese, Ethiopian, Kenyan and Ugandan communities. According to the World Bank, global remittances to Africa reached $109 billion in 2024, with roughly a third originating from the GCC. Much activity still occurs off the books and in cash: traditional operators such as Western Union, MoneyGram and Gulf exchange houses charge average sending costs of 8% to 9% — among the highest globally — creating demand for lower-cost digital alternatives.

A recent Visa study cited in the reporting found nearly two-thirds of UAE residents now prefer digital apps over physical locations for sending money abroad, with ease of use (50%) and safety, privacy and speed (46%) listed as key drivers. Companies such as Zeepay are pursuing partnerships with established digital payment firms in Dubai or Abu Dhabi to pilot an African remittance corridor rather than immediately establishing physical offices. "We need to test the appetite. Rather than entering a market we are not native to, we prefer collaboration so that our services can be tried out," Amofa added.

• Innovate1Pay: global operations based in Dubai's Jumeirah since 2019.
• Flutterwave: expanding into the UAE after moves into Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in 2024.
• MNT-Halan: launched salary-financing products in Dubai.
• Paymob Technologies: expanded across UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman; secured full UAE Central Bank license.

Outlook

Gulf capital is increasingly targeting African fintech: Partech Partners data shows African fintechs raised $1.5 billion across 150 deals in 2025, and GCC sovereign wealth funds and family offices have intensified exposure to African assets. GCC countries have invested more than $100 billion in Africa over the past decade. Notable deals include Nigeria’s Moove.io raising a $30 million private credit sukuk arranged by Franklin Templeton Investments in Dubai in 2022, and Kenya’s M-Pesa partnering with the UAE-based ADI Foundation — whose parent, IHC, is described as a $240 billion entity.

Boston Consulting Group projects African fintech revenues could reach $65 billion by 2030 — a thirteenfold increase — pointing to long-term opportunity in SME finance, credit and digital banking beyond payments. Still, short-term headwinds remain: regulatory bottlenecks and geopolitical tensions, including the war in the Middle East, may temporarily slow Gulf investment as governments refocus spending priorities. For now, partnerships and pilot projects in the UAE appear to be the most pragmatic route for African fintechs seeking to tap Gulf liquidity and the worker remittance market.