JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Africa is one of the most vibrant, dynamic, and exciting places to do business. However, it is not without its challenges. Currency devaluation, political instability, and service disruptions are often part of the landscape. As the saying goes, Africa is not for the faint-hearted.
But in navigating these challenges, relationships matter most. It is not simply about pouring money into problems but about investing time, building trust, meeting with partners, regulators, and understanding mutual needs.
The rewards for those willing to make this effort are enormous. Africa’s population is projected to hit 2.5 billion by 2050, and its people are embracing digital technology. According to the World Bank, Africans are using digital connectivity to enhance their lives—be it through education, sending remittances, or building small businesses. Investing in this human development is a pathway to growth.
The Payments Opportunity
At the core of this African growth trajectory lies a critical thread: payments. Those who can simplify, rationalize, and standardize payments across Africa’s dynamic financial economy will reap substantial rewards.
One such organization is MultiChoice, a pan-African video entertainment provider with nearly 40 years of experience. MultiChoice has a presence in over 50 markets, with up to 23.5 million customers and over 100 million monthly viewers. Over the years, MultiChoice has built relationships across the continent to collect payments for its offerings, including DStv, GOtv, and Showmax. This vast network makes MultiChoice unique in its ability to manage payments at such a scale.
Recognizing the potential in this opportunity, MultiChoice has partnered with global venture-capital firm General Catalyst and payments company Rapyd to launch Moment, a payment platform designed to offer the broadest, most comprehensive payment network across Africa.
Moment’s Rapid Growth
Launched in January 2024, Moment’s services initially catered to MultiChoice’s brands, including Showmax and DStv. By November 2024, Moment was already processing about 35% of MultiChoice’s revenue, a number that continues to rise. The platform expanded to other enterprises in August 2024, rapidly growing its presence across the continent.
Moment currently operates in 44 African countries and supports more than 200 local payment methods, including in-person payments at over 1 million store and agent locations, mobile money, credit and debit cards, bank transfers, and digital wallets.
Moment’s platform enables consumers and businesses to move from cash-based transactions to digital payments, offering access to better financial opportunities, more competitive prices, higher-quality goods and services, and seamless participation in the digitally enabled economy.
Expanding the Ecosystem
Moment’s cloud-native infrastructure is built to cater to the high daily and weekly transaction volumes required by large enterprises. It is designed to withstand challenges like network outages and power cuts—issues that frequently disrupt service across the continent. In addition, Moment’s financial reconciliation and settlement system helps businesses manage their daily cash flow. The platform automates reconciliation processes, streamlining operations and allowing companies to focus their resources more effectively while gaining access to fast, accurate financial reporting.
By connecting businesses to more than a million in-person payment locations and a wide range of online payment methods tailored to each market, Moment enables businesses to tap into the mass market’s buying power through a single API connection. This infrastructure opens the door to new growth opportunities for enterprises across Africa.
Driving Real-Time Payments
Moment is also championing real-time payments, a crucial advancement in the payment landscape. In partnership with MultiChoice, Moment launched PayShap payments in South Africa, the first “consumer-to-business” real-time payment option built on South Africa’s RPP payments system. PayShap offers significantly faster and cheaper transactions, representing a leap forward in the payments space. Moment is working to extend real-time payment systems to other parts of Africa, including the SADC countries and Nigeria.
Simplifying Payments for the Continent
One of the main reasons MultiChoice ventured into the payments space was due to its inherent complexity, characterized by numerous service agreements, fluctuating commission rates, and exchange rates. Simplifying this fragmented landscape for everyone’s benefit made sense. Africa is a continent full of opportunity, but its dynamic market requires adaptability. Moment has developed technology that can be tailored to each market, recognizing that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.
Building technology that can handle the massive scale of MultiChoice’s operations has allowed Moment to streamline financial processes. For instance, one merchant was operating with a team of 75 people dedicated to handling reconciliations—an inefficiency that Moment’s platform can automate, freeing up resources and enabling businesses to focus on their core services.
Africa’s Growing Potential
Africa is poised to become the world’s largest opportunity over the next 20 years. As the population continues to grow, many foundations will need to be built, especially in the payments sector. Efficient, cost-effective payment solutions are the lifeblood of Africa’s economy, and enabling them at scale will ensure the continent can perform to its fullest potential.
Through its partnership with MultiChoice, Moment is positioned to play a central role in this transformation. By simplifying payment processes and enhancing efficiency, Moment is driving Africa’s digital economy forward, making it easier for businesses and consumers to navigate the future.
In this fast-evolving landscape, Moment stands ready to be a leader in the payments revolution, providing the infrastructure needed to support Africa’s growth for decades to come.
Swahili 
English 
French 
Portuguese 
Chinese