Mobile money in Africa: Orange is looking south for sources of innovation in Europe

A housewife pays for her shopping at the market in Bamako, Abidjan or Dakar using her portable telephone. After a simple phone call from her son in Paris, she receives a money transfer from him, and can instantly withdraw the sum at a shop on the street corner. This series of events has become a way of life for people in Africa for years. So how is it that in France payment using Smartphones is struggling to get started? This observation prompts us to re-evaluate some popular – and slightly patronising – misconceptions about Africa. The spectacular success of Orange Money throughout the African continent is primarily due to the work of one man in the field and his teams spreading simple ideas and pragmatic methods which were particularly adapted to local, social and cultural realities. A decade after its creation, the lessons learned from this unlikely ‘reverse innovation’ are being used as a benchmark in Europe for progress in multiple sectors.