Kenyan SMEs are increasingly able to sell beyond their borders. A fashion brand in Nairobi can reach customers in London through Instagram, while a software developer in Westlands can invoice clients in New York. Market access is expanding faster than ever before. The harder part is getting paid.
For many small businesses, the biggest threat to growth is no longer finding customers. It is payment friction. Businesses are losing money through foreign exchange spreads, settlement delays, intermediary banking charges and opaque transaction costs embedded in cross-border payment systems.
A company can close a deal worth thousands of dollars only for part of that value to disappear before the money reaches its account. Payments often arrive days late and, in many cases, businesses receive less than expected after multiple deductions along the payment chain.
According to the World Bank, Sub-Saharan Africa remains one of the most expensive regions globally for cross-border transactions, with payment costs in some corridors exceeding 10 percent. For SMEs operating on thin margins, that directly affects hiring, pricing and expansion decisions.
The contradiction is that demand already exists. The African Continental Free Trade Area and digital platforms have opened global markets to African entrepreneurs. But trade agreements alone do not move commerce. Money movement does.
Today, a Kenyan business can sometimes receive money from Europe faster than from another African country. No trading bloc can scale efficiently while payments remain slow, fragmented and expensive.
The challenge extends beyond transaction costs. Compliance processes often delay legitimate commercial activity and increase uncertainty. Additional documentation requests become routine, while settlement timelines remain unpredictable.
As a result, many SMEs have adapted around these inefficiencies. Some build payment delays directly into pricing models, while others hold excess working capital to cushion settlement uncertainty.
Kenya has already demonstrated what happens when financial infrastructure responds to local realities. M-Pesa transformed domestic commerce by reducing friction and creating speed, trust and accessibility at scale.
But once money crosses borders, businesses are pushed back into an older financial system built around correspondent banking and fragmented settlement processes. That disconnect is increasingly constraining growth.
If Kenya and Africa are serious about building globally competitive SMEs, payments infrastructure must become an economic priority.
Faster settlements, transparent foreign exchange pricing and interoperable payment systems are no longer optional. Africa cannot build a continental trading economy on payment systems that still treat cross-border commerce as an exception rather than the norm.
Mark Mwaniki is Commercial Director, Verto East Africa
