With no surprise, Régis Bamba and Hassan Bourgi paved the way for Côte d’Ivoire ‘s entrance into the global financial technology market. In November 2022, their two-year-old venture Djamo successfully raised 14 million dollars in funding – a start-up specializing in personal banking services! The Prime Minister, Patrick Achi, enthusiastically celebrated this sector’s announcement and “phenomenal energy” on social media. Abidjan-based fintech has raised an impressive total of more than $20 million in 2022 alone!
Côte d’Ivoire, In Ivory Coast, There Is an Environment Quite Accustomed To Fintech
Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa’s largest French-speaking country, was highlighted in a 2022 McKinsey report which predicted that it would have the highest rate of growth for its financial services market by 2025. This has drawn considerable attention to this region as smartphone penetration and network coverage extension have made Côte d’Ivoire the biggest “electronic money” market within UEMOA, with a whopping 30% of accounts utilizing mobile payments.
Universities have provided educational programs to train the required personnel for fintech. However, according to Régis Bamba, a greater development has occurred due to the new generation of tech-savvy workers eager to blend in with their business environment.
Banks Are Also Enthusiastic about Fintech
As more people are predicting a surge in demand for traditional banking products and loans, fintech has been working hard to tackle one of the major issues with financial services in West Africa: interoperability between banks and those who own electronic wallets or telecom operators. Surprisingly enough, both established companies and start-ups share similar interests in Côte d’Ivoire – something that even public authorities eventually became aware of.
On January 2023, the government of Côte d’Ivoire announced an ambitious initiative: Startups Boost Capital. This project was funded with a budget of 1 billion CFA francs (1.5 million euros), which aims to give capital infusions to start new fintech projects. Following years of expectation, the ‘start-up act’ law is expected to pass into effect in 2023 and provide tax breaks for Ivorian companies as well. “There’s growing demand from public organizations for digital solutions,” states Idriss Monthe, founder of Cinetpay, an online payment platform.
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