Mobile money has become one of the most transformative financial technologies in emerging markets, enabling millions of consumers to send, receive, and store funds without access to traditional banking services. As adoption continues to grow across Africa, providers are expanding beyond basic payments and transfers to offer new financial services that support businesses, charities, and individuals. These innovations are helping strengthen financial inclusion while creating new use cases for digital payments.
Orange’s launch of a mobile crowdfunding platform in Côte d’Ivoire reflects this evolution. By combining crowdfunding with mobile money, the initiative gives users a simple way to raise funds for personal and charitable projects while leveraging an existing payments infrastructure that is already widely trusted and accessible.
Mobile network operator, Orange has announced the creation of a new mobile crowdfunding platform in Cote d’Ivoire that will allow users to make donation requests and receive money via their Orange Money accounts. According to Orange, private individuals and charities can finance their personal and charitable projects by making an appeal through the mobile network which will then verify the request and post the request on the platform. Funding requests must have an Orange Money account in order to accept funds pledged by other users.
Commenting on the move, Orange wrote in a statement,
“The Orange Collecte initiative embodies the group’s desire to support innovative solutions that meet its customer’s basic needs, while also illustrating the issue of developing innovative financial services in Africa.”
In a region where payment card acceptance and use is minimal but mobile phone and mobile payments are widely available the move makes a lot of sense and helps generate additional use out of the Orange Money system. It comes shortly after M-Pesa in Kenya announced it was opening up its API to developers to create new applications for B2B and B2C payments. While mobile payments struggle to gain traction in mature markets, it’s clearly a different picture in other markets.
The growth of mobile money platforms demonstrates how digital financial services can address needs that extend far beyond simple payments. Crowdfunding, fundraising, and community support initiatives are natural extensions of mobile payment ecosystems, particularly in markets where traditional banking and card acceptance remain limited.
As providers continue to expand their offerings, mobile money is likely to play an increasingly important role in driving financial inclusion and supporting economic development across Africa. The success of platforms like Orange Money highlights how innovative payment services can create new opportunities for consumers, businesses, and charitable organizations alike.
Overview by Tristan Hugo-Webb, Associate Director, Global Payment Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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