(Business in Cameroon) - Mobile operator Orange Cameroon announced it controls 70% of the market share on the Mobile Money segment with estimated monthly cumulative transactions of CFA800 billion in 2021. This makes a total of CFA9.6 trillion for the year, or twice Cameroon's state budget in FY2021.

These figures were reported on July 5 in Yaoundé by Emmanuel Tassembedo, head of Orange Money Cameroon, during the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Orange Money in the country. “When I say cumulative transaction values, I mean deposits and withdrawals, cash transfers, bill payments, payroll, and all that merchant payment stuff, etc. We do about 3 million transactions a day. With the interoperability with Gimac launched in July 2020, after a pilot phase that lasted more than six months, whether in Cameroon or other countries in the sub-region where cash transactions can be done, more than 70% of transactions are carried out through Orange Money," said Emmanuel Tassembedo.

MTN questions Orange’s data

Orange owning 70% of the Mobile Money market share means the other operators, including MTN Mobile Money, control only 30% of transactions. Frédéric Debord, MD of Orange Cameroon, says his company has positioned itself at the heart of financial transactions for businesses and individuals in Cameroon. According to him, Orange Money represents 7 million payment accounts and over 60,000 merchant and distribution partners.

However, MTN -Orange's main competitor- questions this data. The company claimed its MoMo service has 10 million customers and 168,000 points of presence across the country (108,000 merchant points and 60,000 distribution points). "We deploy all the innovative products (NFC, supermarkets ...). They have always been behind us although they have more active customers," says an internal source at MTN.

Launched in 2011, the Orange Money service operates in partnership with the Banque Internationale du Cameroun pour l'épargne et le crédit (Bicec), a current subsidiary of Morocco's BCP, which has received authorization from the Bank of Central African States (Beac) to issue electronic money. Orange Money Cameroon, which was created in 2019, has applied for approval to evolve its activities, "in full autonomy", towards services such as micro-credit.

Sylvain Andzongo