Stripe, one of the world’s leading financial infrastructure platforms, has expanded its tax automation support to five new African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, and Ethiopia. This move is part of its ongoing mission to simplify global commerce by making tax compliance easier for businesses in emerging markets.

The announcement was made during Stripe Sessions 2025, the company’s annual product event. At this event, Stripe Tax revealed that it now supports automated tax payments in 102 countries, up from just 57 a year ago.

“We now support tax collection in one out of every two countries globally,” the company stated in its product blog. “Our expansion includes five additional African countries, bringing powerful tax tools to more businesses across the continent.”

According to the International Finance Corporation, Africa’s e-commerce market is projected to reach $180 billion by 2025, driven by a young, mobile-first population and increasing internet access. Yet, tax complexity and inconsistent regulation remain a barrier for local and global players alike.

Stripe Tax is built to automate complex and time-consuming tax processes such as calculating, collecting, and remitting VAT, sales tax, and other levies, especially critical in emerging markets with evolving regulatory frameworks.

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Stripe has emphasised that its goal is to “reduce the compliance burden” and help startups scale internationally without the legal friction that typically hinders cross-border expansion.

In an earlier statement, Stripe explained that tax complexity is a major reason startups struggle to grow globally. By incorporating compliance into its platform, founders and finance teams would stay focused on operations and customer growth.

Africa’s digital economy is growing rapidly,  particularly in key fintech hubs like Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa, where Stripe had previously launched payments support. But new markets are emerging fast.

By adding tax support in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, and Ethiopia, Stripe is signalling a deeper commitment beyond just payment processing. It’s building infrastructure for end-to-end compliance, which can help unlock billions in digital transactions across the continent.

Stripe’s tax product eliminates manual tax code updates, generates reports for filing, and even integrates with local authorities in supported countries. With tax automation now available in over 102 countries globally, Stripe is not just responding to Africa’s market potential. It’s shaping it.

The expansion in Africa reflects a broader strategy to become the operating system for internet commerce, wherever that commerce happens. By removing back-office friction, Stripe is helping African businesses become more competitive globally.

While Stripe’s payment gateway is officially available in a limited number of African countries, the company is gradually deepening its footprint through partnerships and platform-level tools like Atlas, Checkout, and now, Tax.