Super Apps in Africa Depend on Trust, and That Is Hard to Rewire

Orange S.A. and Safaricom PLC are building toward the same idea: one app that brings payments, telecom services, and digital products into a single interface. The viability of super apps in Africa now rests less on concept and more on execution.

Early rollouts show both momentum and strain, with growth ambitions colliding with the realities of user behaviour and system reliability.

Orange is scaling Max It across 16 markets, targeting 75 million users by 2028. Safaricom, meanwhile, is consolidating its ecosystem through Safaricom My OneApp, merging financial and telecom services already used daily by millions.

The contrast is not just strategic. It reflects two different ways of trying to anchor user habits.

Safaricom consolidates an existing base

Safaricom’s approach starts with services that already carry daily usage. M-PESA handles transactions across Kenya’s economy, while MySafaricom manages airtime and account functions. My OneApp combines these into a single interface and layers mini-apps on top.

The logic is incremental. Users are not being asked to adopt something new. They are being moved into a unified environment that reduces switching between apps. For developers, the appeal is immediate access to an active user base that already transacts frequently.

This structure aligns with how super apps have scaled elsewhere. High-frequency services come first. Additional functions follow.

A difficult launch exposes the risk of consolidation

The rollout of My OneApp has not been smooth. Early versions triggered login failures, frozen transactions, and performance issues. Some users were unable to access services entirely, particularly those outside Kenya who rely on Wi-Fi or non-local SIM cards.

The requirement for an active Safaricom connection effectively blocked segments of the diaspora from reaching their accounts. At the same time, automatic updates moved users from stable apps into the new interface without fallback options.

Safaricom has since issued updates to address these problems, restoring key features and improving navigation. The pace of iteration suggests the platform is stabilising, but the episode highlights a central risk. When financial services are folded into a broader interface, any instability affects core access to money.

This is not a marginal concern. It goes to the heart of trust.

Orange builds reach across fragmented markets

Orange is pursuing a wider footprint. Max It integrates telecom services, content, and finance through Orange Money, with 23 million active users so far. The company is expanding through partnerships, bringing external services into its ecosystem while prioritising growth over immediate margins.

This model depends on scale across diverse markets. In regions where Orange controls both connectivity and payments, the app has a stronger foundation. In others, it competes alongside established financial and communication tools.

Unlike Safaricom, Orange is not consolidating a single dominant user flow. It is assembling multiple services and encouraging users to adopt them within one interface. That creates breadth, but it does not guarantee daily reliance.

Behaviour remains the limiting factor

Super apps succeed when they become routine. In Africa, that routine is anchored in financial transactions. Where a platform sits directly on top of those transactions, it has a path to centrality.

In Kenya, M-PESA already plays that role. It is embedded in daily life for individuals and businesses. Any super app must either extend that experience or compete with it.

Communication presents a different challenge. Messaging is distributed across global platforms such as WhatsApp. No telecom operator controls that layer. Without a dominant communication channel, super apps lack a natural entry point for continuous engagement.

Mini-app ecosystems are becoming standard

Both Orange and Safaricom are building mini-app frameworks that allow businesses to plug into their platforms. This reduces the need for standalone downloads and keeps users inside a single environment.

The difference lies in how those ecosystems form. Safaricom can offer developers immediate access to concentrated activity within its financial system. Orange offers broader geographic reach, but usage is more distributed.

Developers tend to prioritise environments where engagement is predictable. That dynamic will shape which ecosystems mature faster in each market.

Reliability is now part of the viability question

The early issues with My OneApp introduce a constraint that sits alongside behaviour and scale. Super apps are not just aggregators of services. They become gateways to essential functions.

When those gateways fail, the impact is immediate. Users are locked out of transactions, unable to complete routine actions, or forced to navigate unfamiliar interfaces under pressure.

This raises the threshold for success. A super app must match the reliability of the systems it replaces while adding new layers of functionality. That is a demanding requirement, particularly in markets where mobile money already operates with high trust.

A market that will not converge in one direction

The viability of super apps in Africa will not produce a single outcome. It will vary by market structure.

In countries where one operator controls payments and connectivity, consolidation can move quickly. In markets with entrenched alternatives, adoption will be slower and more fragmented.

Orange’s growth is likely to concentrate where it owns the financial layer. Safaricom’s platform will deepen within its existing base, extending outward from a strong core while refining stability.

Super apps in Africa are taking shape. Their success will depend on whether they can absorb essential services without disrupting the routines that made those services indispensable in the first place.

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