Orange Money Group and Fintech JUMO Partner to Expand Microcredit Services Across Africa

Abidjan, Ivory Coast — Orange Money Group has joined forces with fintech leader JUMO in a strategic partnership aimed at significantly expanding digital microcredit services across Africa, particularly targeting the continent’s vast unbanked population.

This collaboration harnesses cutting-edge data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver secure, instant, and low-risk credit offerings to millions of people via their mobile devices.

Orange Money Group, a dominant mobile money operator with over 100 million customers in 16 countries across Africa and the Middle East, handled more than EUR 160 billion in transactions in 2024. JUMO, a premier banking-as-a-service fintech platform, has disbursed over $8 billion in loans to more than 31 million customers across numerous African markets.

Pooling their expertise and scale, the alliance will enable Orange Money to incorporate a variety of microcredit products into its mobile wallets, empowering users without traditional bank accounts or collateral to access loans swiftly and securely. JUMO’s decade-long experience in asset allocation and credit risk management, powered by AI algorithms, will optimise credit decisions, reduce default risk to below 4%, and build sustainable loan portfolios.

How the Service Works

Access: Orange Money customers request credit directly via their mobile wallets.
Assessment: JUMO’s trained AI analyses transactional and behavioural data instantaneously to evaluate creditworthiness.
Disbursement: Approved amounts are immediately credited into users’ mobile wallets.
Repayment: Loan repayments are automatically deducted based on agreed terms.

This seamless user experience, accessible through apps or USSD, aims to provide critical financial support for personal projects and emergencies, boosting financial autonomy for underserved communities.

Market Rollout and Strategic Focus

The partnership will initially prioritise Francophone African countries, with Burkina Faso set to be the first launch market, followed by Mali and Botswana. The offering encompasses multiple credit products, from short-term to instalment loans and involves diverse funding partners, including pan-African banks and development finance institutions. This model is crafted to foster a vibrant microfinance marketplace that broadens credit accessibility in emerging markets.

Aminata Kane, CEO of Orange Money Group, remarked: “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.”

Andrew Watkins-Ball, JUMO’s CEO, added: “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 Financial Inclusion Imperative in Africa

Despite rapid growth in mobile money adoption, financial inclusion remains a pressing challenge. According to data, fewer than half of Africa’s adult population holds formal bank accounts. Digital microcredit, powered through mobile money platforms, is emerging as a crucial tool to democratize access to finance, unlocking entrepreneurial opportunities, stabilising household finances, and stimulating economic growth.

This partnership exemplifies the next wave of fintech innovation focused on frictionless, collateral-free, and data-driven credit delivery tailored to African realities.

Looking Ahead

With plans to expand across multiple African countries and product lines, the Orange Money–JUMO alliance has the potential to reshape microfinance by:

Increasing credit availability for the underserved,
Reducing barriers posed by traditional banking,
Lowering lending risks through advanced analytics,
Supporting broader digital economy participation.

As Africa’s mobile money ecosystem evolves, such partnerships will be pivotal in accelerating financial inclusion and driving resilient economic development.