Senegal’s Wave Receives €90 Million Investment From The International Finance Corporation And Others

Senegalese fintech startup Wave has received a new investment of €90 Million from the investment arm of the World Bank – the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and other sources. The investment which came as a loan includes loans from Norfund, Finnfund, responsAbility Investments, Lendable, Blue Orchard, and Symbiotics.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) was an investor in Wave’s Series A funding round which took place last year September.

Wave said the loan it received will be focused on its subsidiaries in Senegal and Ivory Coast, allowing them to grow the company’s user base and operations. In a statement, Coura Sene, Wave general manager for the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), said that “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.” 

“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.” The IFC’s regional director for West and Central Africa, Aliou Maiga, added.

The last time Wave was on our radar, the fintech startup had just raised $200 million at a new valuation of $1.7 billion. The startup which is one of Africa’s unicorns had investors such as Sequoia Heritage, Founders Fund, Ribbit Capital, payments giant Stripe, Partech Africa, and Sam Altman; the former President of Y Combinator and current CEO of OpenAI.

Wave claims to be the largest mobile money player in Senegal.