A collaboration has been announced between Orange (a leading telecom operator in Cote d’Ivoire), Cofina Cote d’Ivoire (a leading financial institution dedicated to meso-financing), and Yabx Netherlands (a fintech venture offering credit products across multiple countries in Africa).
The collaboration is in a bid to facilitate smartphone financing for Orange customers in Cote d’Ivoire. The announcement was made during the MWC show in Barcelona, Spain. The partnership is expected to make a significant difference in promoting a digital lifestyle and expanding financial inclusion in Côte d’Ivoire.
Impact of said Smartphone Financing on Cote d’Ivoire’s Economy
Cote d’Ivoire has been the fastest-growing economy in West Africa for the past decade and is among the fastest-growing countries in the world. Before the coronavirus pandemic, its economy expanded an average of 8% annually between 2011-2019.
According to Yabx, the collaboration will make a significant difference in promoting a digital lifestyle and expanding financial inclusion across Côte d’Ivoire.
What Orange Has To Say About The Collaboration
Speaking about the collaboration, Raoul Yobouet, CMO of Orange Côte d’Ivoire said, “To experience a high quality of digital services and user experience, it is imperative for customers to buy a 4G smartphone. High one-time expenditure becomes a key challenge to increase user adoption.
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We are confident that through this partnership with Yabx, the high entry-cost barrier will be eliminated, which will help in driving smartphone adoption,”
Also speaking on the collaboration, Puneet Chopra, Chief Growth Officer, Yabx said, “The main economic and social objectives of our partnership with Orange and Cofina are to help the population of Côte d’Ivoire gain instant access to smartphones in an affordable and convenient manner, enhancing digital adoption through financial inclusion,”
Elhadj Kane, Legal Director & Company Secretary at Cofina added that “This partnership helps us further advance on our vision to be the pan-African model for inclusive finance and use of technology to do responsible lending.
About Yabx
Yabx offers a platform that enables banks and other financial services organizations, mobile network operators, and handset manufacturers to provide digital lending, merchant and MSME financing, and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) products.
The company, which has operations in the emerging markets of Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, provides the technology to underwrite smartphone financing for customers by building their profiles from thousands of data points, using their digital footprint on mobile services and mobile money.
Under the partnership with Orange and Cofina, Yabx will provide the technology and manage the complete customer journey that will enable Cofina to launch plans for Orange subscribers to pay for smartphones in installments.
“To experience high-quality digital services and user experience, it is imperative for customers to buy 4G smartphones,” said Raoul Yobouet, Orange’s CMO. “Through this partnership with Yabx, the high entry-cost barrier will be eliminated, which will help in driving smartphone adoption.”
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For Yabx, the partnership with Orange in Côte d’Ivoire is a part of the company’s long-term strategy to enable digital lending services in Africa, according to Puneet Chopra, its Chief Growth Officer.
“We want to help the population of Côte d’Ivoire gains instant access to smartphones in an affordable and convenient manner, enhancing digital adoption through financial inclusion,” Chopra said.
Our Observation On The Rise Of Telco Led Smartphone Financing Model
In conclusion, telco-led smartphone financing models are gaining traction across Africa as a means of boosting smartphone uptake in developing markets, where the affordability of devices remains a major barrier to adoption.
46% of Côte d’Ivoire’s population, live below the poverty line with the national minimum wage set at around $100. These people cannot afford to outrightly pay for smartphones and would benefit from Orange’s intervention and financial solution.