African banking has turned a corner. For the first time in the industry’s modern history, revenues across the continent have topped $100 billion — and according to a major new report from McKinsey, the sector’s profitability is running well ahead of the global average, raising fundamental questions about where the next phase of growth will come from and who will capture it.
Banking revenues reached approximately $99 billion in 2024 and are estimated to have climbed to $107 billion in 2025 — a milestone that marks the continent’s financial sector as one of the world’s most attractive growth markets. Returns on equity stood at 19 percent in 2024, with expectations of a modest easing to 17 percent in 2026 — still roughly 70 percent higher than the global banking average of approximately 10 percent.
From Potential to Performance
“African banking has moved decisively from a story of potential to one of performance,” said Mayowa Kuyoro, a McKinsey partner and head of the firm’s financial services practice in Africa. The assessment reflects four consecutive years of favourable conditions — elevated interest rates, loan repricing, and strong revenues from foreign exchange and trading activities.
On a constant-currency basis, African banking revenues grew at approximately 17 percent per year between 2020 and 2024 — a pace that puts most global markets in the shade. In U.S. dollar terms, the growth rate moderates to around 5.2 percent annually, reflecting the impact of exchange rate fluctuations in several large markets.
The Concentration Question
The $107 billion in revenues remains heavily concentrated. Five markets — Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa — account for approximately 70 percent of the continent’s total banking revenues. South Africa alone generates about $26.4 billion in customer-driven revenues.
Lending remains the single largest revenue pool for African banks, projected to grow to approximately $52 billion by 2030. But it is the small and medium-sized enterprise segment that McKinsey identifies as the fastest-growing customer cohort.
The Digital Frontier
“The next phase of competition will be defined by how banks scale digital capabilities and build revenue streams beyond traditional lending,” Kuyoro said.
For African banks, the $100 billion milestone is simultaneously a validation and a starting point. The harder question — how to sustain performance while extending financial inclusion to the hundreds of millions who remain outside the formal banking system — is one that the industry’s next chapter will need to answer.