Orange Money Group has expanded its mobile money offering by introducing small loans, following a new partnership with financial services platform Jumo.

In a statement, Orange said the collaboration will allow it to offer new microcredit services, leveraging Jumo’s expertise in asset allocation and credit risk management.

The rollout will initially focus on Francophone African markets, with more countries to follow. Orange Money customers will be able to request credit directly from their mobile devices without the need for a bank account or collateral.

Founded in 2015, Jumo claims to have disbursed over US$8 billion to more than 31 million people across markets including Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa, Benin and Cameroon. It says it has facilitated 250 million individual loans to date.

Orange Money Group CEO Aminata Kane said: “After developing transfer and payment services used thousands of times every second, we now aim to support our customers in their personal projects and help them manage everyday emergencies.

“In recent years, Orange Money has expanded its portfolio with highly accessible small loan offers. By partnering with Jumo, we aim to accelerate this momentum, roll out these services across a wide range of countries, and combine our expertise with their technology to deliver support that is even faster, more transparent, and better tailored to the needs of all our customers.”