Stripe has announced a significant expansion of its automated tax service to five new African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, and Ethiopia. This move, which was revealed on Tuesday at Stripe Sessions 2025, aims to simplify tax compliance for businesses operating across these markets.
Stripe, founded in 2009, is a global fintech leader that simplifies online payments and commerce. It supports millions of businesses with payment processing, billing, and financial tools across 100+ countries. Known for its developer-friendly APIs, Stripe powers major companies and startups alike, driving seamless digital transactions worldwide.
Simplifying tax compliance across Africa
Due to complex and inconsistent regulations, tax compliance is a daunting challenge for many African businesses. Stripe Tax automates VAT, sales tax calculation, collection, and remittance, integrating directly with local tax authorities. This reduces the burden on startups and global firms, enabling them to scale more easily across the continent.
Stripe now supports automated tax payments in 102 countries worldwide, doubling from 57 a year ago. According to the company, this means it handles tax collection in one out of every two countries globally. The service generates filing reports and automatically updates tax rules, eliminating manual errors and penalties.
Driving growth in Africa’s e-commerce market
Africa’s e-commerce market is projected to reach $180 billion by 2025, fueled by a young, mobile-first population and improving internet access. Despite this growth, tax complexity remains a significant barrier to business expansion. Stripe’s expansion into these five countries supports emerging markets beyond payment processing, offering end-to-end infrastructure for cross-border digital commerce.
Stripe has already established payment services in key African fintech hubs like Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa. The latest tax automation rollout is part of Stripe’s broader strategy to become the operating system for global internet commerce, alongside other products like Atlas and Checkout.
Stripe’s Co-Founder and President, John Collison, emphasized the company’s mission: “We simplify everything about calculating and collecting sales taxes, VAT, and GST, so our users can focus on building their businesses.”
This expansion reflects Stripe’s commitment to easing tax compliance hurdles and supporting digital commerce growth in Africa’s fast-evolving markets