Orange Money, a mobile phone-based money transfer service, has partnered with banking-as-a-service fintech provider JUMO to enhance digital financial services and expand access to microcredit across Africa.
This collaboration harnesses cutting-edge data analytics and Artificial Intelligence to serve unbanked populations by combining Orange Money’s extensive reach of over 100 million customers in 16 countries, and JUMO’s AI-driven lending technology, which has disbursed over $8 billion to 31 million Africans.
Through this partnership, Orange Money will strengthen its financial inclusion strategy by offering new microcredit products via mobile wallets. JUMO’s advanced data analytics and AI models will help optimize credit allocation, reduce lending risks to under 4%, and build sustainable credit portfolios.
Also, customers will be able to request loans directly through their Orange Money wallets, with eligibility determined by JUMO’s AI based on transactional data. Once approved, funds are instantly credited, and repayments are automated.
Speaking on the partnership, Aminata Kane, CEO of Orange Money Group said,
“Building on our extensive transfer and payment services, we now aim to support customers beyond transactions, helping them realise personal goals and manage daily emergencies. Our collaboration with JUMO accelerates this ambition by combining our reach with their innovative technology for faster, transparent, and more tailored credit solutions.”
Also commenting, Andrew Watkins-Ball, JUMO’s CEO said,
“We are proud to partner with Orange Money to extend affordable credit to millions. This collaboration leverages Orange’s scale and JUMO’s AI-driven platform, providing customers with greater financial choices and supporting our banking partners’ growth in new markets.”
The initial rollout begins in Burkina Faso, followed by Mali and Botswana. The alliance will create a multi-country, multi-product microfinance marketplace, leveraging partnerships with pan-African banks and development finance institutions.
This collaboration represents a new model for telco-fintech partnerships in Francophone Africa combining Orange Money’s distribution power with JUMO’s smart credit infrastructure to deliver frictionless, collateral-free, and data-driven lending tailored to African realities.
Mobile money has no doubt significantly boosted financial inclusion in Africa, with Sub-Saharan Africa leading globally in mobile money adoption, 33% of adults have a mobile money account compared to 10% worldwide, and account ownership in the region has risen from 23% in 2011 to 55% by 2021. Services like M-Pesa in Kenya have transformed access to financial services, enabling transactions, savings, and credit for millions, particularly in rural areas where traditional banking is scarce.
However, significant financial inclusion gaps persist. Nearly half of Sub-Saharan Africa’s adult population (45%) remains unbanked, compared to 29% in other developing economies. While mobile money has reduced Africa’s financial inclusion gap, challenges like low digital literacy and limited internet access persist.
Orange Money and Jumo’s partnership will play a significant role in mitigating these by offering USSD-based access (usable on basic phones) and focusing on user-friendly, transparent processes, though broader issues like gender disparities and regulatory inconsistencies still require attention.
In summary, the Orange Money-JUMO partnership is a transformative step toward closing Africa’s financial inclusion gap, leveraging AI to deliver accessible, low-risk microcredit at scale. It empowers underserved populations, supports economic growth, and sets a model for telco-fintech collaborations, though its success depends on addressing remaining infrastructure and literacy barriers.
Notably, Orange Money and Jumo partnership exemplifies the next wave of fintech innovation focused on frictionless, collateral-free, and data-driven credit delivery tailored to African realities.
