Senegalese-US fintech Wave has secured a €90 million syndicated loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, and other sources. The syndicated loan comprises loans from Symbiotics, Blue Orchard, Lendable, responsAbility Investments, Finnfund, and Norfund.
This investment is the IFC’s second in Wave, having participated in the company’s Series A funding round in September last year in a $5 million co-investment with Partech Africa.
The loan will go to the Senegalese and Ivorian subsidiaries of the startup to help the company increase its customer base and grow its operations in the countries.
Coura Sene, Wave general manager for the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), in a statement shared with TechCabal, said, “Access to digital financial services remains limited in the WAEMU, region with only 24% active mobile money accounts compared to 34% in East Africa in 2020. This investment by IFC and other lenders helps us offer a diversity of financial products, encouraging users to stay within the formal financial sector, deepening financial inclusion in the region.”
IFC’s regional director for West and Central Africa, Aliou Maiga, said “Supporting access to financial services for the low-income unbanked populations is a key priority for IFC. Our investment in Wave will not only promote inclusive finance, but it will also significantly contribute to further advanced digital economy solutions in West Africa.”