Publications
Publications
- March 2022
- HBS Case Collection
In Data We Trust: Be Mobile Africa and Furthering Financial Inclusion Across the African Continent
By: Lauren Cohen, Grace Headinger and Pierre Marchesseault
Abstract
To Cédric Jeannot, leveraging technology to promote financial inclusion was personal. After no established financial institution would accept his technology platform to lower transaction costs for free, Jeannot launched FinTech company Be Mobile Africa in May 2020. Within a year, the company had reached over 35 countries with many potential users pending on its waiting lists. A ‘for-profit with purpose’, Be Mobile Africa aimed to lift 100 million people out of poverty by extending financial services to previously unbanked populations across the African continent. Racing towards its goal, the company needed a longer-term expansion strategy to fulfill Jeannot’s mission. Should its growth strategy focus on starting afresh in new markets, or should it dedicate more resources to onboarding prospective users in markets where it already has a foothold? Would the tradeoff of temporarily pulling resources away from this mission to fundraise capital to fund greater long-term successes be worthwhile? Although “In Data We Trust” had served the company well so far, would “In Money We Believe” lead Jeannot to fulfill his ultimate vision?
Keywords
Finance; Fintech; Emerging Market; Fundraising; Financial Inclusion; Strategy; Expansion; Management; Entrepreneurship; Personal Finance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; Africa; Togo; Nigeria; Ghana
Citation
Cohen, Lauren, Grace Headinger, and Pierre Marchesseault. "In Data We Trust: Be Mobile Africa and Furthering Financial Inclusion Across the African Continent." Harvard Business School Case 222-073, March 2022.