ABUJA, SEPTEMBER 7, 2016 – Orange, a leading world telecommunication operator, has further strengthened its position as a major player in the mobile financial services segment in Africa.A statement on Wednesday said the organisation strengthened its position with the recent receipt of Electronic Money Establishment licences (EME) in four countries in Africa – Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea.
“This change of status is accompanied by the creation of a new organisation, Money Compliance Expertise Centre CECOM, which provides mutualised risk and compliance management for its mobile money activities in these countries.
“In 2015, noting the significant growth of mobile money services within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) published an update of the regulatory framework related to such services.
“This change, initiated in similar fashion by the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea (BCRG), encourages telecommunications operators to obtain an EME licence, to conduct their mobile money operations within a broader framework of responsibility.
“It was in this context that Orange filed licence requests with both central banks and received EME status in early 2016 in four countries: Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea,’’ the statement said.
Bruno Mettling, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Orange Group and CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa, said: “By securing EME status, we are able to further develop the Orange Money business, which lies at the heart of our mission of being the strategic partner for the digital transformation in Africa and the Middle East.
“This with the objective of generating more than 200 million euros by 2018.
“Today, the Orange Money customer base represents 5 per cent of all customers in this market worldwide. Acceleration is already in progress, in particular with the opening of new corridors to expand our international money transfer services.”
