Africa’s gift card market is projected to reach $8.5 billion by 2030, fueled by the increasing adoption of fintech platforms and evolving payment ecosystems, according to a new report released February 20, 2026, by ResearchAndMarkets.com.
The report forecasts the market will grow by 11.6 percent year-on-year in 2026 to $5.6 billion. This follows a period of strong growth between 2021 and 2025, which saw a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5 percent. Analysts predict a further CAGR of 10.9 percent from 2026 to 2030.
Competition within the market is expected to intensify, particularly around control of distribution channels. Fintech marketplaces are expanding their cross-border catalogues, while payment networks are integrating voucher systems into everyday transactions. Retailers are focused on strengthening loyalty programs to retain stored value within their own ecosystems, the report states.
The African gift card market remains fragmented, varying significantly from country to country, and operates at the intersection of traditional retail gift cards, digital vouchers, and fintech-driven prepaid systems. Competitive pressure is most pronounced in countries where modern retail chains have successfully implemented omnichannel operations and where digital financial platforms already distribute value products through apps and merchant networks.
Flutterwave currently operates a dedicated marketplace offering third-party gift cards and voucher codes, competing on speed of delivery and catalogue depth. In North Africa, Fawry integrates e-vouchers and partner offers into its payments ecosystem, leveraging its wide merchant acceptance network.
In South Africa, retail incumbents including Pick n Pay, Shoprite Group and Checkers are shaping closed-loop competition through loyalty-linked products that influence where customers earn and spend stored value.
Recent deal activity has largely occurred in adjacent retail and payment infrastructure, rather than among pure-play gift card firms. For instance, Pepkor’s acquisition of Retailability brands expanded store networks that could later support voucher distribution. In Egypt, Fawry’s partnerships with Orange Egypt and FORSA have strengthened its ecosystem scale and bundling capacity.
In Kenya, digital vouchers are increasingly delivered through mobile-money wallets such as M-Pesa and accepted via payment rails linked to Safaricom infrastructure. This trend reflects how mobile money has become the default transaction layer for daily spending, making gift cards a natural extension of existing payment habits.
Demand for international brand gift cards is rising in Nigeria as consumers utilize them to bypass limits on cross-border payments for streaming, gaming and global e-commerce. Platforms such as Paystack and Flutterwave facilitate distribution of prepaid value as part of broader merchant payment solutions.
Corporate adoption is also accelerating. Companies are increasingly deploying reloadable or multi-merchant gift cards for staff rewards, incentives and disbursements, replacing cash-based bonuses because they offer greater auditability and reduce leakage risks. Industry observers expect business-to-business and hybrid B2B2C use cases to outpace consumer gifting growth in coming years.
The study concludes that digital-first issuance will dominate new gift card supply, with physical cards gradually declining in strategic importance and surviving mainly in malls and supermarkets. Super-apps and online marketplaces are likely to treat gift cards less as traditional presents and more as balance-management tools designed to lock users into their ecosystems.
With Africa’s payments landscape estimated at roughly $17.7 billion and still expanding, analysts say the convergence of fintech innovation, retail distribution power and mobile-money adoption is set to redefine the role of stored-value instruments across the continent’s commerce ecosystem.
