The partnership will introduce new microcredit solutions aimed at serving unbanked and underserved populations across the continent.

With over 100 million customers in sixteen countries across Africa and the Middle East, Orange Money Group facilitated more than €160 billion in transactions in 2024. 

JUMO has disbursed over $8 billion to more than 31 million African customers, matching expertise and a desire to scale with Orange Money Group.

This partnership will enable Orange Money Group to advance its financial inclusion strategy by introducing new microcredit services to its customer value proposition. 

The collaboration with JUMO leverages their data analytics and artificial intelligence capabilities, refined over 10 years to optimise credit allocation, reduce the cost of risk for lending to < 4% and grow sustainable portfolios.

This strategic alliance will also enable the rollout of various credit products across multiple markets from a multitude of funders, creating a new microfinance marketplace for the unbanked in emerging markets, with an initial focus on Francophone Africa. 

JUMO’s leading expertise in asset allocation and credit risk management makes it a key partner for Orange Money Group in Africa. Orange Money Group customers will be eligible to securely request credit through their mobile devices, without needing a bank account or collateral.

JUMO has developed a range of short-term and installment loan products for consumers, merchants and distributors with limited access to these services. They use trained AI algorithms to assess credit risk and facilitate the immediate flow of capital through their partnerships with pan-African banks and development finance institutions.

JUMO’s AI-driven technology for banks and payments ecosystems will provide Orange Money Group the opportunity to introduce real-time app-based and USSD lending to their African customers. The offering is multi-country, multi-product, and multi-funding, with plans to launch in Burkina Faso imminent, to be followed by Mali and Botswana.

This partnership delivers a streamlined user experience that combines financial inclusion with cutting-edge technology. The process is as follows:

• Users access the service via their Orange Money Group wallet
• They request an amount of credit
• JUMO’s AI technology evaluates eligibility based on transactional data
• If validated, the amount is immediately credited to the user’s wallet.
• Repayment is made automatically according to agreed terms.

Aminata Kane, CEO of Orange Money Group said: “After developing transfer and payment services used thousands of times every second, we now aim to support our customers in their personal projects, as well as help them manage everyday emergencies. In recent years, Orange Money has expanded its portfolio with highly accessible small loan offers.”

“By partnering with JUMO, we aim to accelerate this momentum, roll out these services across a wide range of countries, and combine our expertise with their technology to deliver support that is even faster, more transparent, and better tailored to the needs of all our customers”.

Andrew Watkins-Ball, JUMO CEO and founder: “We are proud to have been chosen to partner with Orange and we are excited to connect Orange customers with products from the market-leading banks that run on our platform. 

“This collaboration, built on top of Orange Money Group’s mobile payments and money transfer platforms, will provide customers with great financial choices and allows our bank partners to grow in new markets”.

Designed to scale its operations across existing and new markets, even as many African startups struggle to raise capital, this is a 100% debt which makes the deal unique.

Led by Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and backed by development finance institutions such as British International Investment (BII), Finnfund, and Norfund, the new capital will fuel Wave’s working capital needs and infrastructure growth. 

These funders are turning to debt instruments to support high-impact ventures, a change driven by global macroeconomic pressures and declining venture capital inflows into Africa.

Wave, already active in eight West African countries including Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, Gambia, and most recently Cameroon, is aiming to boost its footprint and possibly move into Central and East Africa. 

While no roadmap has been published, the company’s ongoing recruitment and regulatory conversations in those regions hint at what’s coming.

Wave’s co-founder and CEO, Drew Durbin, captured the company’s urgency: “I’m thrilled about this funding, it means we can help even more people by delivering the best possible product at the lowest possible price.”

Founded in 2018, Wave is bolstering access to finance. The firm has reached over 20 million active users monthly and manages a sprawling network of more than 150,000 agents across the continent. 

In a region where telecom giants like Orange, Free, and Expresso still charge between 5% to 10% per transaction, Wave’s fixed 1% fee for peer-to-peer transfers has become its strongest weapon.

Deposits and withdrawals are free. For bill payments, users pay nothing, merchants carry the cost. It’s a commendable, consumer-first approach that has helped Wave capture the trust of micro-entrepreneurs and women who now use its services to manage finances, save consistently, and gain independence.

Accessibility also drives Wave’s model. Even those without smartphones can use QR cards linked to their accounts, ensuring the platform serves both digital natives and low-income earners equally.

Wave’s business model has turned heads well beyond the continent. In 2021, it became Francophone Africa’s first unicorn with a $1.7 billion valuation following a record-setting $200 million Series A round. Stripe, Sequoia Heritage, and Founders Fund led that funding.

Despite global challenges and past internal restructuring, including a 15% staff cut in 2022, Wave has stabilised with a team of 3,000 employees. The company continues to report strong operational performance and deeper integrations with local banks and utility providers. 

Its long-term goal is to build a full-stack financial infrastructure that can underpin both consumer payments and institutional financial services.

Wave is also the only African startup listed in Y Combinator’s Top 50 revenue-generating companies in 2023 and 2024, showing enduring profitability in a tough investment environment.

For institutions like Finnfund, the real value lies in the impact. According to their data, 80% of Wave users report an improved quality of life, less stress around money, more savings, and a sense of control over their finances.

Wave is showing that mobile money in Africa doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated, and with this fresh round of funding, it’s obvious the company isn’t done yet.

Being the largest equity raise ever for an Ivorian startup, this achievement follows a $14 million Series A round in 2022. The Y Combinator-backed fintech is on a mission to make banking more accessible and affordable, and this is just the beginning.

Djamo was co-founded by Hassan Bourgi and Régis Bamba in 2020. Ever since, the company has successfully tapped into the largely underserved populations of Ivory Coast and Senegal. 

Unlike its competitors focusing on larger African markets like Nigeria and South Africa, Djamo is carving out a distinct niche in the Francophone market. With over one million customers, the startup is now expanding its service offerings to include savings vaults, investment products, and even salary-linked bank accounts.

Bourgi, who serves as the CEO, shared that Djamo’s valuation has doubled since its last round of funding, although he declined to disclose the precise figure. The company’s vision has always been to create a financial service that bridges the gap between mobile money and traditional banking, offering both accessibility and depth. 

In a region where traditional banks are usually inaccessible to the majority, mobile money has become the go-to solution. However, while mobile money has expanded financial inclusion, it still lacks more advanced banking features like credit, investments, or long-term savings—services Djamo now provides.

Bourgi explained the dynamic needs of Djamo’s users, saying, “These users are evolving. But they don’t want to go where their parents went, into institutions with predatory pricing and aren’t adapted to the new generation of customers. And this is what we are building, trying to become the go-to bank for this huge cohort of customers that is evolving now to more complex, wealth-building financing opportunities.”

Since its last round, Djamo has also broadened its service offerings. Beyond simple card payments and peer-to-peer transfers, it now offers brokerage services, enabling users to invest in local markets. As the first fintech in the region to receive a fintech-issued brokerage license, Djamo is uniquely thriving in the financial services space.

While Djamo has attracted a growing number of banked users who treat it as a secondary account, it is the unbanked segment that presents the most significant long-term potential. In fact, over 55% of Djamo’s customer base falls into this category, and nine in ten of those using Djamo as their primary financial account come from this group.

However, reaching these unbanked users comes with its own set of challenges. To address this, Djamo has adopted a hybrid approach, combining its app with offline agents who meet customers in person to facilitate transactions—much like the mobile money model used across Africa.

One of the next steps for Djamo is expanding its customer base to include salary earners. Currently, only 5-10% of users receive their salaries through the app. Bourgi aims to increase this figure, with a goal of having 50% of its user base receiving direct salary deposits into Djamo.

Simultaneously, Djamo is enhancing its services for small businesses, which make up a growing segment of its customer base. Many of these businesses started as retail users and are now using the platform for bulk payments, payment links, and QR code tools to accept payments. 

According to Chief Technology Officer Régis Bamba, Djamo is also exploring additional revenue streams, including lending and earning interest on customer deposits.

Bamba revealed that Djamo’s revenue has grown fivefold since 2022, and it has processed more than $4.5 billion in transactions. With its recent expansion into Senegal, Djamo now competes in a market dominated by Wave, another mobile money giant in the region. 

However, Djamo isn’t positioning itself as a direct competitor but as a complementary service, offering users advanced financial tools that Wave and other mobile money platforms lack.

The startup’s latest funding round, led by Janngo Capital, will further ensure its expansion across Francophone Africa. Fatoumata Bâ, the founder of Janngo Capital, highlighted the impact of Djamo’s work, particularly in closing the gender gap in financial access. 

“In a region where fewer than 25% of adults have access to formal financial services, and where women are twice as likely to be excluded, this is a vital mission. With women making up a third of its users, Djamo is not only closing the gender gap but unlocking economic opportunity at scale.”

The round was led by Breega and included participation from investors such as Partech, Orange Ventures, and Outlierz, among others. Raisers Partners acted as financial advisers for the deal. 

This funding will enable Socium to strengthen its foothold as a pioneer in the region’s HR-tech market, where demand for tailored solutions is on the rise.

Founded in 2021 by Samba Lo and Serigne Seye, Socium is targeting the 21 countries in Francophone Africa, leveraging shared economic frameworks, regulations, and currency to deliver region-specific HR solutions. 

Lo highlighted the untapped potential in this market, explaining that the startup’s focus on the region gives it a distinct advantage.

Paris VC Firm Breega Launches $75M Africa Fund to Back Early-Stage Startups

Socium’s platform addresses critical HR needs, including recruitment, payroll, and performance management. Initially conceived as a recruitment website, the startup evolved into a comprehensive HR solution after recognising the broader needs of its clients. 

The platform automates routine tasks such as payroll calculations and CV scoring, freeing HR managers to focus on employee engagement and development.

In 2023, Socium launched a payroll engine designed to handle the complexities of payroll management across multiple countries in the region. The solution enables rapid deployment in new markets—within two weeks—offering a faster alternative to global HR platforms. 

Added to this, it incorporates artificial intelligence to enhance recruitment processes, such as generating job descriptions and matching candidates to roles efficiently.

“We’re committed to helping HR teams streamline daily operations so they can focus on their most important asset: people,” said Lo. 

The startup’s tools also aim to support businesses with tax and regulatory compliance by integrating with tax agencies to automate filings.

A Growing Client Base and Future Plans

Socium has already garnered over 100 active clients spanning 15 countries and 10 industries. The company’s ability to address local HR challenges has positioned it as a key player in Africa’s burgeoning HR-tech landscape. Lo and Seye, who met while studying at École Polytechnique, attribute their success to their shared vision and entrepreneurial drive.

The startup’s journey reflects Lo’s personal mission to contribute to Africa’s development. After a career in data science and investment banking, Lo joined a French SaaS company where he discovered his passion for entrepreneurship. 

Reflecting on this transition, he said, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, I realised I wanted to create something meaningful for my community, and HR technology felt like the right path.”

A Competitive Market

Socium is among a growing number of HR-tech startups gaining traction in Africa. For instance, Kenya’s WorkPay recently raised $5 million in a Series A round led by Visa.

However, Socium’s unique focus on Francophone Africa gives it a strategic edge in a relatively underserved market.

With the new funding, Socium aims to expand its reach, enhance its product offerings, and become a leader in HR-tech across Francophone Africa.

The appointment is fundamental to extending OmiRetail’s footprint across Francophone Africa, a region experiencing rapid economic growth and promising opportunities for the e-commerce sector.

Steve Dakayi brings a wealth of experience to OmniRetail, with a strong background in e-commerce and leadership roles. 

Before this appointment, Dakayi was the founder and CEO of BetaStore, a B2B e-commerce startup he established in 2020. Despite BetaStore’s eventual closure, the startup provided Dakayi with the required insights into the dynamics of the B2B e-commerce industry in Africa. 

His career also includes a tenure at Jumia, one of Africa’s largest e-commerce platforms, where he held important roles in commercial and fulfilment operations. 

His work at Jumia involved leading innovative teams, driving commercial strategies, and managing complex fulfilment processes, all of which provided him with the skills needed to scale through the challenges of expanding an e-commerce business in emerging markets.

OmniRetail’s decision to expand into Francophone Africa is driven by the region’s economic performance and the strategic advantages it offers. 

The Francophone African market is characterised by a stable currency, the CFA franc, which is pegged to the Euro, providing a degree of economic stability that is less common in other parts of Africa. 

This stability, coupled with high economic growth rates, particularly in countries like Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and Senegal, makes the region an attractive target for expansion. 

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), six of the seven fastest-growing economies in sub-Saharan Africa are in Francophone countries, stressing the region’s potential.

In his new role, Dakayi will be responsible for leading OmniRetail’s operations in Ivory Coast and spearheading the company’s broader expansion into Francophone Africa. 

He will report directly to Deepankar Rustagi, CEO of OmniRetail, and will focus on establishing strong local partnerships and driving the company’s growth in these new markets. 

Dakayi’s strategy is centred on maintaining an asset-light model to ensure operational efficiency and profitability. This approach aligns with OmniRetail’s business philosophy, which emphasises sustainable growth through strategic market entry and prudent financial management.

The Francophone region’s growing middle class is another factor driving OmniRetail’s expansion. This demographic shift is resulting in increased purchasing power and changing consumer habits, creating a fertile ground for the growth of e-commerce. 

Dakayi recognises the potential of this trend, noting that the rising middle class is a key driver of economic expansion in the region. He is confident that OmniRetail’s focus on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) will resonate well with consumers in Francophone Africa, allowing the company to establish a strong market presence.

OmniRetail’s expansion into Francophone Africa is a move that mirrors similarities with other major players in the B2B e-commerce sector. 

The company’s goal is to become the leading e-commerce platform in Africa, and the expansion into Francophone countries is a vital part of this vision.