When capital tightens, its movements matter more. Q3 2025 made that unmistakably clear. In a cautious global funding climate, capital did not disperse, rather it concentrated, and it did so around two foundations: artificial intelligence and stablecoin infrastructure.
From my vantage point as a fintech operator, the shift signals that fintech is exiting its era of surface innovation and entering its infrastructural age. For Africa, this transition is not just relevant, it is decisive.
For instance, in 2025, AI crossed a threshold as it moved from promise to prerequisite. According to Silicon Valley Bank’s State of Fintech 2025, AI-driven companies captured a majority of global venture capital funding, with financial services among the leading sectors adopting AI at scale. Investors were no longer funding AI because it was impressive, they were funding it because it worked.
Capital flowed to AI systems that demonstrably improve outcomes such as fraud detection in complex environments, credit assessment amid fragmented data, compliance automation, and scalable customer support. In modern fintech, AI is no longer a feature, it is the decision-making engine.
This matters profoundly for Africa. Many of the continent’s hardest financial problems, like fraud risk, informality, and weak data trails, cannot be solved by speed alone. They require intelligence. AI enables fintechs to scale trust without scaling cost, turning inclusion from an ambition into a viable business model. By 2026, AI will likely disappear from marketing language altogether, not because it failed, but because it became invisible infrastructure.
Stablecoins underwent a parallel transformation. Once framed primarily as speculative tools, they are increasingly being funded as core financial plumbing.
By 2025, stablecoin market capitalisation had grown to nearly $300 billion, while annual transaction volumes reached well into the tens of trillions of dollars, driven increasingly by real-economy use cases and institutional activity rather than pure trading. What changed was legitimacy.
For instance, in a recent report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted that stablecoins are increasingly being used as a form of currency for international transactions. The IMF also highlighted that stablecoins could potentially play a crucial role in promoting financial inclusion in developing countries, where access to traditional banking services is limited.
In conclusion, the shift in fintech funding towards AI and stablecoins marks a significant turning point for the industry. As capital becomes increasingly cautious, the value of innovation lies not in its novelty, but in its practicality. For Africa, this is a wake-up call to prioritize the development of infrastructural technologies that can address the continent’s most pressing financial challenges.
## The Rise of AI in Fintech
From my vantage point as a fintech operator, the shift signals that fintech is exiting its era of surface innovation and entering its infrastructural age. For Africa, this transition is not just relevant, it is decisive.
## Stablecoins as Core Financial Plumbing
By 2025, stablecoin market capitalisation had grown to nearly $300 billion, while annual transaction volumes reached well into the tens of trillions of dollars, driven increasingly by real-economy use cases and institutional activity rather than pure trading. What changed was legitimacy.
## The Future of Fintech in Africa
In conclusion, the shift in fintech funding towards AI and stablecoins marks a significant turning point for the industry. As capital becomes increasingly cautious, the value of innovation lies not in its novelty, but in its practicality. For Africa, this is a wake-up call to prioritize the development of infrastructural technologies that can address the continent’s most pressing financial challenges.
