Telco Orange has joined with bancassurance outfit NSIA to launch Orange Bank Africa, catering to the needs of the continent's financially underserved.
Launching initially in Abidjan and Côte d’Ivoire, Orange Bank Africa will offer clients a range of simple savings and credit services, allowing customers to borrow as little as 5,000 CFA francs instantly using their mobile phone.
Orange chairman and CEO, Stéphane Richard, comments: “New technology is needed to strengthen financial inclusion and support economic development, as proven by mobile money over the past few years. Banking is a new area of business for Orange in Africa. Based on our association with NSIA, also a leader on the market in Africa, we provide easy access to bank services for as many people as possible, with simple and essential services that benefit all our clients.”
He says the app-based bank has identified Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso as the next markets for expansion.
The firm is using a SaaS technology backbone from Temenos running on Microsoft Azure to enable it to scale as it moves into new territories.