• Axian secures digital finance license in Comoros
• New entity to offer mobile nano, micro-loans
• Banking rate 39%; inclusion seen reaching 75% by 2030

Pan-African telecom group Axian has expanded its mobile financial services in the Comoros after obtaining a decentralized digital financial institution (IFDD) license from the Central Bank of the Comoros (BCC), the company said on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

The license allows Axian to establish a fully digital, regulated entity operating under central bank supervision to provide financial services via mobile devices.

The new entity will operate alongside MVola, Axian’s mobile money platform already active in the archipelago. Erwan Gelebart, CEO of Axian Digibank & Fintech Cluster, said the license marks a step forward in the group’s plan to develop inclusive and sustainable financial ecosystems in the Comoros and other markets. He said it will strengthen Axian’s digital banking and fintech operations and enable regulated financial services to complement existing mobile money offerings, including Mixx and MVola.

The entity will provide digital credit products, including nano- and micro-loans, with near-instant decisions and disbursement. The services are intended to finance working capital, healthcare, education and informal economic activities, regardless of users’ location.

A timely rollout

In a country made up of several islands, where accessing a bank branch may require inter-island travel, digital delivery addresses structural access constraints. Gelebart said a farmer in Anjouan, for example, will be able to obtain microcredit directly via mobile phone without traveling to a branch.

The expansion comes as banking penetration remains limited. According to the central bank’s latest annual report, the banking rate, which covers banks and decentralized financial institutions, stood at 39.23% in 2024, despite progress over the past five years.

MVola entered the Comorian market in 2019, joining Holo Money, operated by the Development Bank of the Comoros (BDC), in the mobile transfer and payments segment. Financial inclusion, defined as the share of adults holding at least one account with a bank, microfinance institution or electronic money provider, reached 49.20% in 2024.

Amid rising competition, including the launch of Comores Telecom’s Huri Money in 2021, the central bank projects financial inclusion could reach 75% by 2030.

With the new entity, Axian is adding to competition in the fintech segment while positioning itself in regulated digital lending. The Comoros will serve as a pilot market, with potential expansion to other African markets where the group operates, including Madagascar, Senegal, Togo and Tanzania.

Muriel EDJO