At the morning market on the streets of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, fruit vendor Kipkolil received a mobile payment notification and quickly packed the fruits and handed them to customers. He said, "In the past, it used to take half an hour to count cash after the stall, and I was afraid of receiving counterfeit currency. Now, transaction records are clear and traceable, saving a lot of trouble." Recently, the "2026 Mobile Money Industry Status Report" released by the Global Mobile Communications System Association showed that by 2025, the number of registered mobile payment accounts worldwide will reach 2.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13%. Among them, sub Saharan Africa accounts for about two-thirds of the total number of new mobile payment accounts. In recent years, the accelerated popularization of mobile payments in African countries has brought new vitality to local economic development. Chinese companies are strengthening cooperation with African countries in areas such as smartphone localization and adaptation, communication network construction, etc., to help African countries overcome the digital divide and achieve economic transformation. The coverage of mobile payments continues to expand. During interviews in African countries, reporters found that mobile payments are increasingly integrated into the daily lives and work of people in these countries. In Nairobi, foreign tourists can purchase a local mobile phone card at the airport communication service hall and complete simple identity verification with their passport to activate the payment function. The entire process takes no more than 15 minutes. In urban markets, convenience stores, and other places, many merchants have posted signs that support mobile payments. Consumers can complete transactions in a few seconds by entering the 7-digit code provided by the merchant. According to data from the Central Bank of Kenya, the proportion of small farmers using mobile payments in rural areas has increased from 15% in 2018 to 68% in 2024. The rise of local fintech companies in Africa has promoted the integration of the digital economy industry chain and the convenience of mobile payments. Nigeria's OPay company is building a one-stop service ecosystem of "payment+transportation+food delivery". By the end of 2025, the registered users will approach 60 million, and the peak daily transaction volume will exceed 15 million US dollars, driving 120000 riders and 800000 merchants to access the digital economy system. As of the beginning of this year, Kenya's M-Pesa platform has a market share of about 90% in the country's mobile payment market, with a user base of about 40 million, covering about 70% of Kenya's adult population. Its parent company, Safari Communications, has a market value of $11 billion in the first quarter of 2025, becoming a benchmark enterprise in the digital economy of East Africa. In 2024, the East African Community launched a cross-border trade settlement system based on mobile payments, allowing member countries to settle trade in real-time through local currencies, reducing intra regional trade costs by 18%. In 2024, intra regional trade volume increased by 12% year-on-year. The World Bank's 2025 Global Financial Inclusion Index report shows that by 2024, mobile payment accounts have become the only formal financial service gateway for over 70% of rural residents in sub Saharan Africa. Mobile payments are significantly expanding the coverage of financial services. Reshaping the African Economic Statistical System According to calculations by the African Development Bank, economic activities that have long accounted for about 40% of the total economic output of African countries have not been included in formal statistics, including street trading, daily odd jobs, and rural small farm buying and selling. These economic activities are not only difficult to be included in macroeconomic regulation, but also make it difficult for practitioners to accumulate credit and obtain financial support. Nowadays, the popularity of mobile payments is solving this problem from a technological perspective, as previously dispersed cash transactions are transformed into traceable and statistically significant economic data through digital tools. In Lagos, Nigeria, tailor Adeola received a customized order and collected a 30% deposit through mobile payment, ensuring the rights and services of both parties; In the main coffee producing area of Karuuguru in western Uganda, farmer Karuma joined a coffee planting cooperative. Every time he sells coffee beans to a buyer, the payment is directly transferred to the cooperative's mobile payment account, and he can receive a text message reminder upon receipt; At a street market in Cape Town, South Africa, handicraft vendor Marcus collects payments through the SnapScan platform, and each transaction is automatically synchronized to the tax declaration system. Small sales that were previously unrecorded have now become calculable economic data... "Mobile payments have reshaped the statistical system of the African economy," said Onekwena, Executive Director of the African Economic Research Center. After Nigeria adjusted its accounting methods in 2024, the accuracy of gross domestic product (GDP) accounting increased by 30%, and data errors in industries such as street retail were reduced from 40% to 12%. The popularity of mobile payments has also lowered the threshold for financial services, injecting development momentum into individual practitioners. Adelina, a female vendor from Accra, Ghana, was unable to provide a business certificate due to cash transactions and has applied for bank loans multiple times without success. Now, she has obtained a loan of 5000 Ghanaian cedi (approximately 1.6 Ghanaian cedi for 1 yuan) through her mobile payment transaction records, doubling the size of her food stall. Nairobi mobile payment agent operator Ochien said, "Five years ago, all transactions were cash, but now many small vendors can apply for small loans to open stores with just one year of transaction records. Digital payments have truly improved their lives." According to data from the Central Bank of Kenya, female small and micro business owners who use mobile payments have a 47% higher probability of receiving credit support than those who use cash transactions. In addition, the local labor department has partnered with technology companies to develop a digital labor contract platform. When construction workers receive their wages through mobile payments, the system automatically records their employment relationship and salary standards. Currently, it has covered more than 100000 gig workers, providing legal protection for their labor rights for the first time. The improvement of data transparency has also optimized the effectiveness of policy implementation. At the Digital Economy Monitoring Center of the Kenyan Ministry of Finance, staff can monitor transaction activity and industry trends in various regions in real-time through large screens, providing support for policy-making. Kenyan Ministry of Finance official Ndemo introduced, "In the past, relying on sample surveys to formulate agricultural subsidies and poverty alleviation policies was prone to bias. Now, relying on real transaction data, we can accurately judge changes in farmers' income in arid areas and adjust assistance measures in a timely manner." Rwanda, on the other hand, uses mobile payment data to draw a "poverty map" and accurately delivers social welfare based on transaction frequency and amount, directly benefiting 120000 rural population in 2024. Although African countries have developed rapidly in the field of mobile payments, they still face challenges such as uneven adoption of digital technology, insufficient network stability, and limited user operational capabilities. To this end, many African countries have launched targeted solutions based on people's livelihood needs. The Ugandan Ministry of Agriculture will launch the "Digital Farmers" training program in 2023, organizing more than 500 technical personnel to go deep into rural areas and guide small farmers to use mobile payments and e-commerce platforms to connect with the market. As of the end of 2024, 4200 small farmers have been trained, indirectly benefiting 16000 people, and the average annual income of participating farmers has increased by 18%. Starting from 2022, the Central Bank of Ghana will pilot an offline version of the central bank digital currency eCedi in the northern region. In response to the low penetration rate of smartphones in rural areas, it has developed a text message payment function that does not require internet connection. In 20 pilot villages, including Sefwi Asafu Village, 83% of participants believe that the system has solved the payment problem. The National Bank of Rwanda will launch its financial technology strategy for 2024-2029 in 2024, with the goal of building a financial service center in East Africa. The plan is to increase the penetration rate of financial technology from the current 61% to 80% by 2029, and the coverage rate of rural mobile payments from 45% to 75%. Chinese enterprises provide support based on the actual needs of Africa, helping African countries improve their digital infrastructure. Transsion Holdings has developed a smartphone operating system adapted to the unstable local network signal, with a built-in simplified mobile payment module. By 2025, the brand's mobile phone shipments in Africa will reach 40.5 million units, with a market share of 48% in the African smartphone market. It has provided nearly 500 million mobile payment enabled terminal devices to African users. Huawei has implemented rural communication coverage projects in countries such as Nigeria and Angola, and has built over 20000 4G base stations, effectively solving the problems of difficult internet access and slow payment in remote areas. Ant Group, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, has partnered with Ethiopian Customs to develop a digital customs clearance payment system, which significantly shortens the clearance time of goods through digital process optimization. Endemo stated that Chinese partners not only provide technical equipment, but also share practical experience in digital accessibility. For example, how to expand the coverage of mobile payments in rural areas with low-cost solutions, and how to enable the elderly and low-income groups to quickly master the operation, this "teaching people how to fish" cooperation model has helped African countries avoid many detours in developing mobile payments. (Looking into the New Era)