The International Finance Corporation, (IFC in English) announced the signing of a partnership with Orange Bank Africa (OBA). This new partnership aims to improve access to financing for agents and merchants operating in the mobile money ecosystem.

IFC and Orange Bank Africa are partnering to support the development of digital financial services in West Africa. As part of this partnership, IFC will provide advisory services to Orange Bank Africa to enable it to design and test innovative and scalable digital credit products that meet the specific needs of mobile money agents as well as merchants who accept this type of payment. These solutions will initially be deployed on the Ivorian market, where Orange Bank Africa started its commercial activities in July 2020. According to Jean-Louis Menann-Kouamé, managing director of Orange Bank Africa, the bank aims to strengthen its collaboration with thousands of agents and merchants, especially in rural areas, who play a key role in the mobile money ecosystem. “More generally, this project is part of our mission to improve access to financial services in the region by building on digital transformations,” he said.

In its pilot phase, the project will target 250 agents of the Orange Money Côte d'Ivoire network in order to strengthen their access to financing accessible from Orange Money, and allow them to have liquidit& sufficient to meet the demand of their customers. “Strengthening financial inclusion in Africa is a top priority for IFC and mobile money services are an effective way to do this. We are pleased to partner with Orange Bank Africa to make a difference in the field of digital credit,” said Manuel Reyes-Retana, regional director for IFC financial institutions in Africa. Orange Bank Africa, born from a partnership between the Orange Group and the NSIA Bank Insurance Group, is the first mobile bank to have obtained a commercial banking license from the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO).