Sub-Saharan Africa's mobile money sector has received special mention in the Orange Essentials 2020 strategic plan for the potential it has to impact global financial services.

The telco has released the report which looks at strategic pillars for better digital services in the years leading up to 2020 as determined by experts from inside and outside the telecommunications company.

Omar Cissé, CEO of InTouch SA and co-founder of Teranga Capital and CTIC (Senegal) says sub-Saharan Africa has developed retail solutions that are beginning to draw attention from Europe and China.

"The development of usage is truly impressive. Over the next five years, we will witness a radical transformation in the way people access financial services. It comes as no surprise that this region of the world would be spearheading the movement, as the penetration rate of mobile phones is inversely proportional to the use of banking services. In Africa, approximately four out of five adults do not have a bank account. Mobile technology is their only solution to access certain basic financial services, such as being paid a salary, paying a bill, saving, borrowing, etc. These transactions are essential to the development of trade and consumption and, more generally, to social and economic development."

Cissé adds that some challenges remain despite the progress made so far especially when it comes to aggregation of payment methods and integration of transaction services.

"InTouch SA noted how complicated it was for merchants and resellers to manage these mobile financial services, having to work with dozens of solutions and terminals from different service providers. We need more and more entrepreneurs to address these issues and people's needs at a local level. This means offering digital solutions in all areas, including finance of course, as well as farming, healthcare, education and so on. But to succeed, we also need partners, like Orange, who are committed to developing the ecosystem. That commitment goes beyond financing startups and support systems, such as the incubator CTIC that we set up in Dakar, to providing broader access to technical resources."

In addition to Africa's head start in mobile money, other key pillars explored in the Essentiels2020 report include implications for democracy of very high-speed broadband as well as the digitisation of the customer relationship and the employee experience.

Lessons from Africa

The adoption of mobile money based on lessons from Africa was witnessed most recently at the launch of Samsung Pay in the UK. Mobile money solutions have also been exported to parts of Latin America and even Albania.

Yasmina McCarty, Head of Mobile for Development at GSMA told ITWeb Africa during MWC2017 that the world is paying attention as mobile technology continues to impact African lives and spur local innovation that can be exported to other parts of the world.

"What is exciting is that we now have half a billion mobile money wallets around the world now and about every minute you have thirty thousand transactions. Mobile money is in ninety-two countries now and processing 22 billion dollars in one month so it has become an industry in its own right and that is thanks to mobile technology. We have thirty-five mobile money services with one million active customers in Africa, Asia and Latin America, but Africa continues to be the pioneer. It is an innovation that you can say Africa gave to the world as it has travelled beyond the continent."