Djamo Raises $17M to Expand Inclusive Banking to 1 Million Users

Ivorian fintech startup Djamo has raised $17M in its latest funding round in Côte d’Ivoire to expand inclusive banking to 1 million users. This is the largest equity financing ever for a startup in Côte d’Ivoire and affirms the strong investor faith in Djamo’s long-term vision of “making banking accessible and affordable” to the unbanked in Francophone West Africa.

Djamo was founded in 2020 by Hassan Bourgi and Régis Bamba to address the financial access challenges faced by millions of people across the French-speaking continent: in regions across the globe less than 25% of adults have a traditional bank account. Because traditional banks are focused primarily on wealthy customers, most of their regular bank transactions are done through mobile money services, which lack some of the more sophisticated financial features such as credit, investments, or savings.

Djamo is a digital and traditional bank of the future. In the main role, the company offers personal accounts, visa cards with no interest fee, automatic savings, investment products and others. The company also offers small businesses banking services, helping them to access banking facilities they wouldn’t be able to get, such as accounts for trading or investment. More than one million people in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal use Djamo today.

The $17 million raised will allow Djamo to expand its offerings and reach even more people who have been excluded from formal financial systems. This funding round was led by Janngo Capital and included contributions from SANAD Fund for MSMEs, Partech, Oikocredit, Enza Capital, and Y Combinator. Djamo’s CEO Hassan Bourgi highlighted the importance of this investment, stating that it is a step towards building one of the most iconic financial platforms in Francophone Africa. He emphasized that millions remain underserved by banks or confined to mobile money ecosystems without real opportunities for wealth-building.

Djamo’s success speaks to an insatiable demand for these digital first financial services, whose purpose is to serve the needs of modern people looking to transition from traditional banks, which often charge high fees and lack new innovations. By offering affordable and accessible services, Djamo is contributing to its users’ shift from mobile money wallets to fully digital banking platforms with features such as interest-paying savings accounts and lending products.

But there’s more to it than that. About 60 percent of Djamo’s users were previously not banked, and a third are women – not just among the lowest income groups, but among the most diverse. That’s because financial institutions often don’t see women as equally important as men.

As Djamo grows, the firm’s ambition is to become the digital bank for the region’s emerging middle class, and with plans to expand its mobile banking platform with additional options to manage spent, save, invest and borrow money, the startup is about to shake up the financial landscape in West Africa.

Djamo raises $17M to expand banking not only as a milestone but also an affirmation of the huge potential of fintech solutions in creating inclusive banking in Africa as they serve local requirements and empower underserved populations. Djamo is setting the example for all startups across similar market niches.

Was this information useful? Drop a nice comment below. You can also check out other useful contents by following us on X/Twitter @siliconafritech, Instagram @Siliconafricatech, or Facebook @SiliconAfrica.