OPERATOR DEAL
Money transfer firm Wari could take on Orange’s hold on cellphones in region
Senegalese money transfer firm Wari plans to list on the West Africa stock exchange in Ivory Coast this year
Dakar — When Senegalese money transfer firm Wari agreed to buy the local mobile arm of Luxembourg-based Millicom International Cellular in February, it set the stage to challenge Orange’s hold on cellphones in French-speaking West Africa. Wari plans to list on the West Africa stock exchange (the BRVM) in Ivory Coast this year, after the $129m deal to buy mobile operator Tigo from Millicom is done, said Wari CEO Kabirou Mbodje. Wari is Senegal’s top money transfer service, a low-cost alternative to Western Union which allows customers to transfer cash and pay bills at petrol stations, banks and even roadside stalls. The deal will give Wari the capability to transfer money on phones, a rapidly expanding service that is dominated in the region by French company Orange. Orange has nearly 8-million mobile users in Senegal, twice as many as Tigo. While the deal will only give Wari a telecoms licence in Senegal, it could use it as a starting point for a push for greater competition in othe...
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