Two of Africa's largest telcos MTN and Orange have formed a joint venture to create an interoperable mobile money transfer service for payments across the continent.
The venture, dubbed Mowali, will make it possible to send money between mobile money accounts issued by any mobile money provider, in real time and at low cost.
Mowali will immediately benefit from the reach of MTN Mobile Money and Orange Money, bringing together over 100 million mobile money accounts and mobile money operations in 22 of sub-Saharan Africa’s 46 markets.
Billed as an inclusive industry utility for mobile payments, the network intends to open up to any mobile money provider in Africa, including banks, money transfer operators and other financial service providers.
Stéphane Richard, chairman & CEO of Orange, says: "By providing full interoperability between platforms, Mowali will provide an important step forward that will allow mobile money to become a universal means of payment in Africa"