The addition of Senegal strengthens Hayo’s West African footprint to meet growing digital demand from local service providers, enterprises and government entities, joining its existing presence in Niger, Liberia, Ghana and Cameroon.

Hayo has hired Abdoulaye DABO, senior partnership and Strategy Manager, to support French-speaking markets in West Africa.

Abdoulaye DABO has almost a decade of telecoms experience in Africa, including roles at Airtel, LAfrica Mobile and other regional telco providers. He will drive Hayo’s growth across Francophone West Africa, identifying new opportunities and building strategic collaborations across the region, while leading the cross-functional delivery of voice, data, and CPaaS solutions.

“There is huge opportunity across Francophone markets in Africa right now, and Hayo has the deep technical capability and localised knowledge to help our customers capture it,” said Abdoulaye DABO, senior partnership and strategy manager at Hayo. “I’m incredibly excited to lead Hayo’s expansion within these dynamic markets, with a focus on building long-term partnerships and driving digital growth in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, and the wider region.”

More than 60% of the world’s daily French speakers now live in Africa, and this is expected to rise to nearly 85% by 2050 according to the International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF).

Francophone Africa is home to some of the fastest-growing digital markets on the continent, with accelerating demand for networking, technologies and communications solutions.

“West Africa contains a number of priority Francophone markets for Hayo, and having the right leader on the ground is crucial for supporting our customers in this region,” said Feraz Ahmed, CEO at Hayo. “Abdoulaye brings a wealth of local expertise to Hayo, and we’re thrilled to have him on board to enhance our strategy and support for service providers, enterprises and governments in Senegal and other key markets.”

Hayo has over three decades of experience in more than 30 African markets, combining communications, GovTech and other digital solutions to drive local digital economies and have a positive impact on communities.

The expansion into Senegal marks another step in Hayo’s long-term strategy to deepen its footprint across Francophone Africa and accelerate digital and economic growth.

Hayo will test, identify and prevent fraud across Zamani’s traffic to increase profitability, sustainability and trust within its A2P SMS business.

It will also roll out innovative pricing strategies to increase traffic volumes and prioritise high-value OTT segments.

Hayo’s SMS Firewall solution detects and blocks A2P SMS traffic that is being terminated into Zamani’s home network over grey routes. It ensures that all A2P SMS is terminated over official allowed listed routes and charged accordingly.

Hayo enables tech giants like Alibaba, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Temu, TikTok and many others to deliver A2P SMS traffic in Niger with a reliable and trusted model.

“Our A2P monetisation strategies and SMS Firewall solutions ensure that operators are free from fraud and proactively blocking traffic from illegitimate sources. Our model is focused on win-win partnerships that support long-term growth,” said Feraz Ahmed, CEO at Hayo. “We’re providing on-the-ground innovation in Niger that will benefit the entire mobile ecosystem in the country. Our goal is to maximise the profitability and sustainability of Zamani’s A2P SMS revenue streams and enable it to thrive for the benefit of Nigerien communities.”

Zamani Telecom, formerly Orange Niger, serves more than 3 million customers in Niger. It offers fixed, mobile and Internet services across the country.

Its mission is to provide access to digital technology and support the growth and diversity of Niger’s digital economy.

“Hayo has a proven track record of consulting, developing and delivering solutions that increase revenue and optimise traffic. Our partnership will increase Zamani’s competitiveness and ensure to maximise the value of all traffic on its network,” said Paul Loveridge, EVP Carrier Services at Hayo. “As the international telecoms landscape increases in complexity, we’re putting a strong focus on adding value for customers, while advising on the digital solutions they need to be successful.”

Hayo’s A2P SMS Firewall solution includes daily penetration testing to detect bypass and fraudulent routes, rules optimisation, AIT detection to identify unsolicited traffic, and anti-fraud training and consultancy with the Zamani Telecom team.

Testing methodologies include OTT generated tests from the main OTT applications and services, as well as simulated 2FA messages sent via international hubs.

The result is reduced revenue losses from fraud and a continually evolving security posture.