Onafriq steps up digital payments in Africa

A digital payments network, Onafriq, has rebranded to further ease digital payment across Africa.

The company, which recently changed its corporate identity from MSF Africa to Onafriq, has a network spanning 40 African markets, connecting over 500 million mobile money wallets, 200 million bank accounts, and 300,000 agents in Nigeria.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Dare Okoudjou, said the change in corporate identity was part of its strategy in repositioning the company for better service delivery.

Okoudjou said: “This rebranding is not just a name change, but a reflection of the company’s evolution and its vision for the future. The name MFS Africa, just like an old jacket, was getting a little tight for us as we have grown. We have expanded beyond just mobile financial services, becoming a true omni-channel platform across the continent and beyond.

“As we embark on this next phase of our journey, we wanted a name that reflects our aspiration of wiring up the whole continent into one network of networks with pathways from and to every African and every African business.

“In Onafriq, there is Ona which is a Yoruba word for pathway and what we are trying to show our commitment to building pathways to inform African businesses.”

On what the company is doing differently in Nigeria, he said: “Our business in Nigeria is in three ways. We operate a network of Point of Sale (POS), the other aspect is offering banks, fintech and other financial institutions the possibility to have access to value added services while the third is to facilitate cross-border transactions into and from Nigeria. Our clients include Guarantee Trust Bank, Palm Pay, MTN, Airtel, and fintechs.”