Orange has launched a mobile crowdfunding platform in Cote d'Ivoire to which users can make and receive donations via their Orange Money accounts.
Using the Orange Collecte platform, private individuals and charities can finance their personal and charitable projects by making an appeal through the mobile network. Campaigns posted on the platform must be backed by an Orange Money account in order to accept funds pledged by other users.
At the end of the collection, the amount raised is directly transferred to the user's Orange Money account.
The telco is working with charitable giving platform HelloAsso to run the project. HelloAsso claims to have raised more than EUR13 million for the 7000 charities registered on its site.
In sub-Saharan Africa, less than 24% of the population has a bank account, whilst more than 80% of inhabitants have a mobile phone.
In a statement, Orange says: "The Orange Collecte initiative embodies the group's desire to support innovative solutions that meet its customer's basic needs, while also illustrating the issue of developing innovative financial services in Africa."