The African financial industry has entered a phase of streamlined growth, with profitability and cybersecurity emerging as top priorities after years of rapid expansion, according to the fifth edition of the African Financial Industry Barometer released on Thursday.
The report, produced by Deloitte and the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS), surveyed executives from more than 70 institutions including banks, insurance companies, fintechs, microfinance institutions and capital market players across the continent between May and September 2025. The findings indicate the sector is returning to fundamentals and making profitability, cybersecurity and operational efficiency the new pillars of its development model.
Executives rated their organization’s three year economic outlook at 8 out of 10 in 2025, up 0.72 points from 2024, with 74 per cent optimistic and only 4 per cent pessimistic. The renewed confidence is driven by easing inflation, improved operational visibility and sustained commercial momentum.
Microfinance institutions showed the highest confidence level at 9 out of 10, ahead of insurance companies at 8.35 out of 10, while fintechs normalized their expectations to 8.33 out of 10 after peaking at 9.25 out of 10 in 2024. Pan-African groups reported strong confidence at 8.44 out of 10, while international players at 7.82 out of 10 and capital market players at 7.5 out of 10 remained more cautious amid prolonged volatility.
Profitability emerged as a strategic priority for 46 per cent of institutions surveyed in 2025, signaling a transition to maturity after several years of sustained expansion. Three levers now dominate transformation plans: financial performance at 84 per cent, customer experience at 85 per cent, and digital transformation at 81 per cent, all up from 2024.
The strategic shift is reflected in improved fundamentals, with net operating margin up for 69 per cent of players, return on equity (ROE) for 57 per cent, and return on assets (ROA) for 58 per cent, despite persistent pressure on asset quality and risk costs. However, operational efficiency declined by 6 points to 54 per cent, illustrating the growing complexity of cost control in a more constrained environment.
Cybersecurity has emerged from a technical issue to a systemic risk, with 58 per cent of institutions reporting high or very high exposure to strategic and regulatory risks. At the same time, 51 per cent rank cybersecurity among their main concerns, compared to 39 per cent in 2024.
In terms of regulatory priorities, cybersecurity tops the list of expectations for 97 per cent of respondents, ahead of digital identification at 92 per cent and combating illicit financial flows at 87 per cent, up 18 points compared to 2024. While 65 to 70 per cent of institutions have fully operational prevention, detection and response systems, the Barometer highlights a gap: investments have focused heavily on detection, but response and remediation capabilities remain limited.
More than half of institutions surveyed, 54 per cent, now consider themselves digitally mature, up 6 points from 2024. Fintechs remain at the forefront with 67 per cent in the Leaders category, but insurers have made the most significant progress, with 59 per cent now in advanced positions, up 19 points from 2024.
Artificial intelligence is primarily viewed as a risk management lever, with 77 per cent of institutions anticipating strong or transformative AI impact on fraud detection, 70 per cent on credit risk analysis, and 70 per cent on process optimization. Personalization of offers at 72 per cent and chatbots at 68 per cent round out the leading use cases.
The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) stands out as the most operational continental integration initiative, with 35 per cent of institutions rating it as highly operational, up 15 points versus 2024. Institutions cite measurable gains in cost reduction at 25 per cent and faster settlement times at 23 per cent for intra-African payments.
Payment system interoperability is identified as the top transformation priority by 2030 by 28 per cent of respondents, driven by the ambition to connect 1.6 billion accounts combining banking and mobile money.
Financial inclusion remains a strategic pillar for 39 per cent of institutions, led by microfinance institutions at 100 per cent and fintechs at 67 per cent, while insurers are actively repositioning in underpenetrated segments through partnerships with telecom operators and microfinance institutions.
On environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, the Barometer reveals a phase of pragmatic engagement, with impact investing remaining the most structured dimension at 66 per cent engagement, while ESG criteria integration has declined to 57 per cent as institutions focus on areas with rapidly measurable impact.
Gender parity is advancing significantly, with 47 per cent of institutions having implemented team parity policies and 44 per cent having dedicated reporting on gender indicators.
Ambroise Depouilly, Managing Partner at Deloitte Francophone Africa, said the African financial sector has entered a phase of maturity, with confidence high, fundamentals strengthening, and continental integration becoming a reality. He noted that remaining challenges such as cybersecurity, data quality and availability, and interoperability are those of an ecosystem being built, not defended.
Frédéric Maury, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Events at Jeune Afrique Media Group, said the Barometer highlights a very clear return to fundamentals in the African financial industry. He noted that faced with a more constrained environment, executives are refocusing their priorities on financial performance and operational efficiency.
The Africa Financial Summit was founded by Jeune Afrique Media Group in 2021 with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. AFIS aims to build a robust financial industry that serves the real economy and sustainable development.
