Investor Insight: Orange and Cellulant Partner to Enable Wallet Transfers in Botswana

Cellulant, Orange partner to enable wallet transfers in Bostwana

Highlights

• Orange Money, the mobile money service of Orange, and leading payments company, Cellulant have partnered to enable card-to-wallet transfers for eight banks in Botswana.
• While most banks in Botswana have mobile apps, not all provide this option for their customers. This solution will allow bank customers to move money from their bank accounts to their Orange Money wallets through the Orange Botswana website, a process that Tingg, a product by Cellulant, powers.
• The partnership further solves the long queues that bank customers have to make to access the agents and gives them easier options in moving money seamlessly.

Source: ITNewsAfrica

Our Takeaway

Africa accounted for 70% of worldwide mobile money transaction value in 2021 with instant digital payment solutions significantly increasing across the continent by the year. However, mobile wallets/money products aren’t equally adopted across the continent with countries like Kenya and Ghana far ahead of others in terms of widespread use. Available data shows Orange Money currently leads the mobile money industry in Botswana with a 30% market share and over $350 million in transactions since its launch in 2011. That makes it well positioned to drive further adoption in the East African country.

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Mastercard-backed incubator seeks to support Ethiopian startups

Highlights

• The Mastercard Foundation, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT), and iceaddis have launched a five-year project that aims to provide startups with funding and acceleration support.
• The aim of the program is to enable over 56,000 people experiencing poverty with access to direct jobs by creating 100 startups and more than 3,000 small businesses.
• Seed funding will be awarded to all selected startups, while 10 companies will receive up to $50,000. Entry to the incubator is free and open to teams or companies in Ethiopia with innovative ideas, products, or ventures that can solve real-life problems.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

As Africa catches up with the developed world in terms of technological progress, accelerators, incubators, and pitch competitions help to bridge this gap by providing crucial access to capital and mentorship to startups. The Mastercard-backed program in Ethiopia is yet another example of corporates supporting startups and SMEs in Africa. Such efforts are even more important when one considers the alarmingly high rates of unemployment across the continent.

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Kenya’s banking regulator goes after unlicensed digital lenders

Highlights

• Earlier this year, Kenya’s central bank pushed companies—even unicorn startups—out of the country’s market of payment operators for their lack of compliance. 
• Now, the tide has turned to digital lenders, who have been given a 3-day ultimatum to comply with the country’s regulation for digital lending or face a bitter extinction.
• Before this move, anyone in Kenya could easily operate a digital lending company. They were only required to register the businesses to begin operations in the country.

Source: TechCabal

Our Takeaway

More than 100 lending apps—including renowned names like Tala, Branch, Okash, and Opesa—operate in Kenya, providing unsecured and instant loans through mobile phones. While these companies offer much-needed consumer financing, there are concerns over how most operate, including the use of exploitative interest rates and debt-shaming recovery tactics, hence the need for regulation. A more organized digital economy is a win for all parties involved—the government, consumers, startups, and investors looking to bet on the country.