OKRA: A Simple and Effective Playbook for Fintech Expansion in Africa.
With examples like Flutterwave, Nala and Wave, This playbook simplifies the expansion process, helping fintechs scale without the pitfalls of premature expansion.
Introduction:
Africa offers a massive opportunity for fintech companies looking to scale, with over 1.4 billion people spread across 54 diverse markets representing more than US$ 3 Trillion in fintech opportunity. However, while the potential is vast, navigating the regulatory landscape, identifying the right partners, and managing resources across the continent can feel daunting. To help fintech founders and investors scale effectively after product market fit, I present the OKRA Playbook—a simple, yet strategic approach for expanding across Africa. OKRA stands for:
OKRA is simple to remember and straightforward to apply. It stands for:
Opportunity: Why and when expand there?
Key Relationships: Who do you need to partner with?
Regulator: Understanding the local regulator, And what they don’t like.
Additions: What resources need to be built?
Why Every Fintech Must OKRA in Africa?
African markets, while full of potential, are often smaller than you might expect. This is why fintech companies must plan for multi-country operations from day one if they are to achieve venture returns. Similar to how software is built to scale across markets, fintech solutions must be designed with a pan-African—and even global—perspective.
Africa’s fintech market is rapidly evolving, but it requires an intelligent approach to expansion. OKRA is designed to guide you through key decisions—where to expand, who to partner with, what resources to build, and how to navigate local regulations.
In the next section: We dive into each element of OKRA framework and see how it works in real life with examples if available.
1. Opportunity: Why and When Expand There?
It’s easy to focus on the big markets, like Nigeria or Kenya, but sometimes the best opportunity isn’t where you expect. It's about why you're expanding into a particular country and when the time is right.
Why expand there? Some markets like Rwanda are smaller but regulator-friendly. This makes it easier to enter, and you can use it as a testing ground before expanding to larger markets.
When to expand? Countries like Egypt and Ethiopia are gradually opening up their fintech sectors to foreign players. If you time it right, you could get in early and build an advantage, but entering too soon could mean regulatory uncertainty.
For example, Wave chose Senegal because it was small enough to dominate, which helped them build credibility. Once they proved they could succeed there, they raised a giant VC round to expand east ward into more larger markets.
2. Key Relationships: Who Do You Need As A Partner?
Building the right relationships is everything. As you grow across multiple countries, your local partners will be your key to success.
Leverage existing partners: If you're already working with major players like UBA or Mpesa, these relationships can act as gateways to new countries. They can help you move fast and expand quickly with less headaches.
Identify Local partners: When entering new markets, it’s critical to work with local players who understand the landscape. They can help you navigate regulators, connect you with customers, and offer insight into market behavior.
Follow your key customers: One powerful strategy is to partner with a major anchor customer to establish credibility in a new market and hit the ground
runningmaking money. Take Flutterwave, for example. They used Uber as an anchor customer to help them enter new markets across Africa. This partnership gave them the trust and reach they needed to expand into countries.
Building the right relationships with local players can make all the difference. In some cases, you may need months to set up key partnerships, so plan ahead.
3. Regulator: Understand the Regulator’s practices, not their regulation.
Regulations vary greatly across African markets and so does their regulators. Some countries are very open to fintech innovation, while others are still working out how to regulate the space, some will tell you right away Do not do Crypto. Understanding these rules practices early is critical to your success.
Some markets have light regulations or are still forming their frameworks on your product, which means there’s an opportunity to get in early. But this can come with first mover advantage disadvantage, and getting things wrong can be costly.
You don’t need to worry about everything being regulated, but you do need to ensure you know what is allowed and what is not, and more important if you can launch without talking to the regulator, Most of the time, You can!
Remember, some countries are more open to foreign fintechs that powers inclusion, remittances or agriculture. So, be sure to understand who to talk to, how to build relationships with advisors, and when to move forward with your product launch.
4. Additions: What Resources Need to Be Built?
Scaling your product across Africa means building infrastructure—but it’s not just about building for one market. You’ll need to think about how to adapt your product for various local needs across multiple countries.
Product: You’ll need to localize your product for different markets, whether that means adding local payment methods, or languages and currencies, or building new product features from scratch, or switching off some features altogether.
Compliance: They usually inspect your tech, Each country has its own version of compliance rules, especially around data protection and anti-money laundering.
Team: For Example, In Rwanda, the CEO and One Director must be residents of Rwanda, You’ll need a strong team that understands market nuances in most markets. Hiring local country managers or compliance officers is common to making sure everything runs smoothly.
The beauty of the OKRA is that it allows you to expand in a measured way. You don't have to build everything for every market upfront. Instead, you can build what’s needed, ensuring your expansion is both efficient and sustainable.
There’s No C in OKRA, It is Okra with a K !
C is for Competition, and Competition is for losers, One thing you won’t find in the OKRA Playbook is a heavy focus on competition. In Africa, the fintech space is still wide open. As Peter Thiel famously said, “Competition is for losers.”
In a market like Africa, the key to success isn’t about beating the competition; it’s about solving real problems, building trust with local customers, and creating sustainable growth. There’s room for everyone to grow and thrive. Africa is an ocean—every fintech company can find their own space to succeed.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, OKRA is more than just a framework—it’s a powerful tool that allows you to estimate the time and resources needed to scale your fintech across multiple African markets. It helps you strategically map out where you're more likely to succeed and identify when to expand into new territories. By understanding Opportunity, building the right Key Relationships, navigating the Regulator landscape, and ensuring you're prepared with the right Additions, OKRA provides clarity at every stage of your growth journey.
With OKRA score sheet, you're not just expanding blindly—you're expanding with a clear plan, confidence, and a calibrated roadmap to scale efficiently and successfully. Whether you're a founder, VC, or leader, this playbook gives you the insight and strategies to succeed in Africa's dynamic and rapidly evolving fintech ecosystem.
By following OKRA, you'll not only be able to make informed decisions about where to expand, but you’ll also have the resources and strategy to thrive. Africa’s fintech future is wide open—OKRA will help you unlock it.
On last Thing: Let us know how you feel about this article, What have you learnt? What do you think needs to be improved? Where else do you think OKRA may apply?