Africa’s largest digital payments network, formerly known as MFS Africa, has undergone a rebranding, unveiling its new identity as Onafriq. The decision to rebrand follows significant growth and recent acquisitions, including the purchase of GTP, which expanded the company’s presence in the US market.
The expansion into the US led to challenges, as the MFS trademark was owned by another company in the United States, restricting the use of the MFS name outside of Africa. Founder and CEO, Dare Okoudjou, believes that the new name, Onafriq, allows the company to unify its brand and identity.
“The name MFS Africa, just like an old jacket, was getting a little tight for us as we’ve grown. We’ve expanded beyond just mobile financial services, becoming a true omni-channel platform across the continent and beyond. As we embark on this next phase of our journey, we wanted a name that reflects our aspiration of wiring up the whole continent into one network of networks with pathways from and to every African and every African business,” stated the CEO.
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Onafriq’s Quest to Unify African Fintech Including MFS Africa
Onafriq describes itself as an ‘omnichannel network of networks’ and aims to minimize the significance of borders by providing partners with a single pathway for cross-border and cross-platform payment solutions. The company boasts a network spanning 40 African markets, connecting over 500 million mobile money wallets, 200 million bank accounts, and 300,000 agents in Nigeria. With its digital infrastructure, Onafriq facilitates domestic and cross-border disbursements and collections, card issuing and processing, agency banking, and treasury services.
Onafriq’s services cater to a wide range of global and regional enterprises, including mobile network operators, money transfer operators, banks, fintechs, global development organizations, and online and offline merchants. The company emphasizes its strong regulatory and compliance capabilities and a significant regional presence with offices in 10 African countries, as well as in the UK, US, and China.
The rebranding of MFS Africa to Onafriq signifies the company’s vision for the future and its commitment to unifying payments across the African continent. The name Onafriq is a combination of ‘Ona,’ the Yoruba word for pathways, ‘Afrique,’ the French word for Africa, and a reference to IQ, symbolizing the company’s ambition to be a smart leader in African fintech.
CEO Dare Okoudjou emphasized that Onafriq represents the idea of One Africa, where borders are interconnected, and access unlocks greater potential, reflecting the company’s mission to break down barriers in the fragmented payment landscape, enabling economic growth and empowerment.
Conclusion
As Onafriq embarks on this new chapter, it extends an invitation to partners, stakeholders, and the entire African community to join in its journey of innovation, collaboration, and progress, to make borders matter less for millions of Africans on the continent.
