THE AFRICA BAZAAR Staff Writer
September 24, 2015
Telecommunication giant, Orange S.A., in partnership with HelloAsso is launching a mobile crowdfunding platform called Orange Collecte for the African market.
The platform, which will be inaugurated in Cote d’Ivoire, will enable individuals and charity organizations to campaign for donation funds for personal or charitable projects through their mobile network.
The Orange Collecte platform was developed in partnership with HelloAsoo.
This partnership is part of the French telecommunication’s strategic move to capture a much wider audience in the increasingly competitive sub-Saharan Africa’s ICT sector as well as meet customers’ evolving mobile technology demand for services such as having access to alternative financial services, which the company provides through its secure Orange Money electronic wallet network.
To use the Orange Collecte platform, Orange Money customers in Cote d’Ivoire can create a personal or business fundraising project campaign for wedding, birthday, fundraising by simply dialing a number on their mobile phone or going to collect.orange.com and indicates how much she/he wants to raise and when the campaign will end. Once a fundraising campaign is created, the fundraiser can invite and notify contributors to make donations.
Contributors can make donations to the campaign using their Orange Money electronic wallet by simply choosing which campaign to donate to, indicate how much they want to pledge and then confirm the pledge.
Once the fund raising campaign ends, the amount raised will be transferred directly to the user’s Orange Money account. Contributors can also invite their contacts to also take part in the fundraising.
The companies said the platform will be free and open to all Orange Money account holders.
Individual or business trying to raise money for a nonprofit organization would be asked to create an Orange Money account dedicated to that organization.
The French company added that the investment illustrates the operator’s strategy to develop innovative financial services and support for innovative solutions that meet its customer’s basic need in Africa
Orange is one of the leading mobile network providers in Africa, offering services including mobile financial services such as money transfer, withdrawal and payment, including savings and insurance solutions, depending on the country.
Earlier this month, Orange partnered with Singtel (Singtel Innov8), Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica to bridge start-up ecosystems across Africa, Europe, Middle East and South Asia.
“Having built up extensive experience of working hand-in-glove with start-ups across the world, Orange sees the formation of global partnerships such as this as the critical next step to ensure that digital innovators container to flourish. With our collective and complementary footprints spanning four continents, we can provide start-ups with access to new markets, thereby enabling them to accelerate their growth further,” said Ms. Nathalie Boulanger, Orange Start-up Ecosystem Director.
By lending its support to startup and emerging technology businesses such as the HelloAsso during their early stages, Orange gets a unique opportunity to reinforce its engagement with emerging technologies to develop open and innovative initiatives to help enhance its customers’ digital experience while also gaining unabridged access to startup ecosystems and creative minds that are producing innovative solutions.
The companies said they will select start-up businesses who will be given access to resources and networks of the four leading communication companies, including market insights, introductions to partners, the use of co-working spaces and access to the companies’s operating businesses.
The selected start-ups may also have the opportunity to gain access to the operators’ collective mobile customer base of over 1 billion people across four continents, the companies said.
Signtel Innov8, Chief Executive Officer Edgar Hardless said the partnership offers a great opportunity for the four company to deepen its connections with leading innovation businesses around the world as well as leverage to build their own network beyond their home bases.
“More start-ups harbor aspirations to venture beyond their own markets and go global. Through Singtel Innov8’s deep connections in Southeast Asia, we can help open doors for African, European, and Latin American start-ups to the region. Similarly, our portfolio companies can leverage this partnership to expand beyond their home markets,” Mr. Hardless,
Min-Kin Mak, Vice President, Deutsche Telekom cited that the partnership provides a huge opportunity for the four companies to develop the “bridges between the ecosystems in Asia, Africa Europe and latin America and to provide start-ups with critical marker access, funding and expertise to become more successful wit their international expansion.”
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