For over a decade, the GSMA has provided unrivalled insights into the growth and health of the mobile money industry through the annual State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money (sotir/). The report highlights mobile money trends at the regional and sub-regional levels (e.g., East Africa, Southern Asia, etc.) based on data submitted by mobile money providers through our Global Adoption Survey. The Mobile Money Prevalence Index (MMPI) was developed to offer a more granular view of mobile money’s progress at the country level (Figure 1).
Figure 1: 2023 MMPI map
Source: GSMA Mobile Money Programme
The MMPI is a composite index that considers mobile money adoption, activity and accessibility (Figure 2) at the country level to facilitate market comparisons. The index ranks countries across five categories ranging from very low, low, medium, high, and very high mobile money prevalence.
Figure 2: Components of the MMPI
The number of countries with a very low to low MMPI dropped from 58 in 2020 to 50 in 2023 (Figure 3). The number of countries with a medium MMPI rose from 13 in 2020 to 17 in 2023, while the number of countries with a high to very high MMPI increased from 26 to 32 over the same period. These trends reflect the remarkable progress the mobile money industry has achieved over the past few years.
Figure 3: MMPI country categories over time
Between 2022 and 2023, 15 countries saw their MMPI improve, seven of which were in Sub-Saharan Africa. These include Botswana, now classified as a very high MMPI country, where the number of active mobile money users and agents grew year-on-year. This was driven by innovation in the country, with Orange Money launching its new super app, Orange Max it. New service offerings also drove mobile money uptake, with Mascom Botswana’s new short-term loan product provided through their mobile money service, MyZaka.
Ethiopia’s MMPI rose in 2023 too, where mobile network operators recently began offering mobile money services. In 2021, Ethio Telecom rolled out its TeleBirr service, which has since expanded rapidly. In 2023, Safaricom’s M-Pesa launched in Ethiopia, supporting the country’s rise from low to medium MMPI status. With the current momentum, we expect continued growth in Ethiopia’s mobile money prevalence over the coming years.
Outside of Sub-Saharan Africa, countries recorded an improved index in the Middle East and North Africa (Egypt and Morocco), Latin America and the Caribbean (Colombia and Nicaragua), East Asia and the Pacific (Fiji and Indonesia) and South Asia (Nepal). A total of 80 countries maintained the same MMPI category in 2023, while two countries saw a lower ranking (Vietnam and Belize).
For more insights into the evolving landscape of mobile money, visit the MMPI website here and see the latest sotir/ here.