Kenya: Orange Celebrates the 10 Millionth Orange Money Customers

BY KAMAU MBOTE, 18 APRIL 2014
Orange money has reached its 10 millionth customer in Senegal one of its 13 countries it operates in.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Orange Stéphane Richard gave a bonus to the 10 millionth customer of Orange Money Ms Kanny G in Dakar, Senegal who had gone to an Orange Money outlet to open an account and was surprised to learn that she had won a Smartphone with an Orange Money credit of 100,000 FCFA (152 euros).

"Orange Money is a revolution in terms of customer experience, and the appeal of this service is the best proof that we made the right choice when we decided to offer mobile payment services in 2008. I am very proud to be in Dakar today to meet our 10 millionth Orange Money customer. While making a strong contribution to economic and social development, mobile financial services also represent a major growth engine in Africa and the Middle East as well as in Europe for Orange," said Stéphane Richard. Orange Money has seen exponential growth since it was launched. The service is now available in 13 countries including: Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt (under the name Mobicash), Guinea, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal and Uganda.

Last year Orange Money transacted more than 2.2 billion euros in transactions and has seen in some countries such as Côte d'Ivoire, more than 40% of all Orange customers have an Orange Money account. Orange Money service links its success to that fact that it meets strong expectations by people in Africa and the Middle East and adapts to lifestyles in countries where only a minority of inhabitants have bank accounts yet the majority have a mobile phone.

Orange Money is a major source of innovation for the Group, which is broadening its offer by developing an ecosystem of services and partnerships. For example, Orange recently launched several flagship projects: Orange Money International Transfer for mobile-to-mobile money transfers, a partnership with Visa in Botswana, giving Orange Money subscribers easy access to new transaction options at Orange outlets, online and in licensed vending machines and a partnership being deployed with Total on distribution and merchant payment in service stations for greater access to Orange Money. Orange Money says it has a number of projects planned for 2014 including: the opening of additional corridors for international transfers, the creation of services for customers with bank accounts, and the development of new interfaces for smartphones.

Moreover, the Group is continuing its efforts to build up its distribution network, especially in the most remote regions, as proximity is a key success factor for Orange Money. Orange's ambition is to support the anticipated growth of the mobile payment market in the coming years. The Group also plans to expand its range of affordable financial and banking services and give as many people as possible access to them. Its objective is to turn them into indispensable services in the years to come, just as voice services, text-messaging and Internet access are today.