Wave, the fast-growing African mobile money platform used in Senegal, Uganda and Côte d’Ivoire, expanded into Gambia last year, where it hopes to bring a large chunk of the population into the financial system. Ben Kolesar, who launched Wave’s operations in Gambia, explains the company’s thinking to fDi Intelligence.
Gambia is a crossroads within West Africa, attracting students and entrepreneurs from around the region. This makes it an important market for any company pursuing a regional strategy.
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Q: Why did Wave decide to launch in The Gambia?
A Senegal was Wave’s first market and within weeks of our launch, people were asking us when we were going to launch in Gambia. Despite a robust banking sector, only 2% of Gambians regularly used mobile money before we arrived. This meant we had the opportunity not just to reduce costs for customers, but to financially include a large segment of the population for the first time. Another key factor was that Gambia’s central bank had recently put together clear regulations for companies like ours and were excited to see more players in the market.
Q: What is Gambia’s growth prospect?
A: We see tremendous potential for growth. We’ve found Gambians to be open to new products and ways of doing business, and we’ve been able to pull from a deeper talent pool than you might expect to find in a small country. Gambia is a crossroads within West Africa, attracting students and entrepreneurs from around the region. This makes it an important market for any company pursuing a regional strategy.
Despite low mobile money usage before Wave arrived, people could see Wave’s impact across the border in Senegal and could understand the urgency and importance of a digital payment. The introduction of Wave mobile money services locally has the potential to grow exponentially by unlocking possibilities and opportunities for those living in Gambia to have access to affordable financial services. The vast majority of Gambians are already aware of Wave and they understand the significant positive impact it will bring to the local economy.
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Q: Does Gambia feel open to technological innovation?
A: Out of all the countries we’ve worked in, Gambia is at or near the top for ease of doing business. The market is open to new players and regulators make themselves available to answer questions and provide guidance. In some countries it can take weeks of writing letters back and forth to resolve issues that in Gambia take just a quick phone call.
Even in the best regulatory environment it’s ultimately customers who decide whether a business survives. Thankfully we’ve consistently found Gambian consumers to be tech-savvy and eager to adopt new solutions.
This article first appeared in the April/May 2023 print edition of fDi Intelligence.