Y Combinator-backed Djamo has secured $17 million to expand its product suite across Francophone West Africa.
The equity round was led by pan-African VC Janngo Capital. Other investors participating in the round include Enza Capital, Partech, Oikocredit, SANAD Fund for MSMEs (managed by Finance in Motion), and Y Combinator.
The fintech startup will use the new funding to expand its product suite for its retail customers and the thousands of small businesses it has onboarded in the last two years.
Djamo, The Digital Bank Serving Francophone Africa
Djamo was founded in 2020 by Hassan Bourgi and Regis Bamba as one of the several digital banking startups targeting the underbanked in French-speaking African countries. But unlike many that focus on large markets like Nigeria, Egypt, or South Africa, Djamo has carved out a niche in Francophone West Africa, specifically the Ivory Coast and, more recently, Senegal. Its customer base is over 1 million customers and 10,000 SMEs across both countries.
Traditional banks in the region often cater to the affluent, leaving a substantial portion of the population reliant on mobile money. Mobile money is a cheaper method of using phone numbers to make financial transactions, and it has been instrumental in expanding financial access across Africa.
“This investment is a major step toward our vision of building one of the most iconic financial services platforms in Francophone Africa”, said Hassan Bourgi, Co-founder & CEO of Djamo. “Millions of people in our region remain underserved by traditional banks or stuck in mobile money ecosystems without access to wealth-building and fair financing opportunities. We are committed to providing them with seamless, affordable, and innovative banking that truly meets their needs.”
According to the World Bank, as of 2022, 28% of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa had a mobile money account, and the region holds more than half of the world’s total. Nevertheless, that progress has also created a ceiling.
Most mobile money platforms offer basic services like cash-in, cash-out, P2P transfers, and bill payments. Although useful, they don’t unlock more advanced financial tools like credit, investments, or long-term savings.
A Hybrid of Mobile Money and Traditional Banking
Djamo is positioning itself as a hybrid of mobile money and traditional banking. The fintech startup offers the accessibility of mobile money with the financial depth of a bank account, a similar playbook used by Softbank-backed OPay and Transsion-owned PalmPay to scale to tens of millions of customers in Nigeria.
The founders say it targets a growing segment of users, mostly younger customers, who’ve outgrown mobile money wallets but still find traditional banks expensive, outdated, or inaccessible.
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“These users are evolving,” said Bourgi. “But they don’t want to go where their parents went, into institutions with predatory pricing and aren’t adapted to the new generation of customers. And this is what we are building, trying to become the go-to bank for this huge cohort of customers that is evolving now to more complex, wealth-building financing opportunities.”
Like many digital banks, Djamo attracts banked users who treat it as a secondary account for smoother bill payments and mobile money integration. However, the unbanked, who are more difficult to activate, show greater long-term potential. These users, who comprise over 55% of Djamo’s base, often treat the app as their primary financial service.
Bourgi claims nine in ten users who rely on Djamo as their main account come from this segment. To reach more of them, Djamo combines its app with offline agents who meet customers in person to facilitate transactions, similar to the mobile money model now more broadly adopted by fintechs across the continent.
Djamo’s New Funding and Expansion Plans
Djamo’s founders say the company has grown revenue 5x since 2022 and processed more than $4.5 billion in transactions since launch. They refused to disclose their valuation, but according to TechCrunch, the startup has doubled since the last raise. This round, the largest ever for an Ivorian startup, surpasses the previous $14 million Series A in 2022.
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“We are thrilled to lead the largest VC funding round in Ivory Coast and double down on Djamo, a mission-driven fintech transforming access to financial services across Francophone West Africa… With women representing a third of its users, Djamo is not only bridging the gender gap but also unlocking economic opportunities at scale. We are proud to support their vision to accelerate access to finance across the region in a more equal way”, said Fatoumata Bâ, Founder and Executive Chair of Janngo Capital.
The new capital will enable Djamo to enhance its platform with best-in-class spending, saving, investing, and borrowing features, delivering a seamless banking experience tailored to the needs of digital-first consumers.
Co-founder and CTO Regis Bamba adds that the company is exploring additional revenue streams, including lending and earning interest on customer deposits. The fintech is working on securing licenses that will allow it to offer interest-bearing savings accounts and credit products.
As Djamo continues to grow, its success is a testament to the viability and significance of localised fintech solutions in driving financial inclusion across Africa.
Main Image: Hassan Bourgi and Regis Bamba, Djamo’s co-founders. Image Credit: Djamo
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