Huawei signed a deal with remittance company WorldRemit to widen the scope of the China-based vendor’s operator-focused mobile money infrastructure platform.

In a joint statement, released to coincide with the GSMA M360 Africa event, the companies said this is the first agreement of its kind entered into by Huawei, and would lower the barrier to entry for new players entering the money market across the African continent.

The deal will allow WorldRemit customers to transfer money to 100 million consumers using services operated through Huawei’s mobile money service platform, which is used by a range of operators and other vendors in the region.

Huawei VP for southern Africa, David Chen, said: “International remittance is a very important mobile money service in Africa, and our partnership with WorldRemit will bring international remittances directly to Huawei’s customers across the continent.”

Ismail Ahmed, CEO of WorldRemit, added: “By making it easier to connect to our service, our partnership will accelerate our ability to introduce our safe, fast and low-cost remittance service to millions of people.”

WorldRemit provides remittance services in 40 countries and can send money to 140 countries, including some of the most popular destinations in Africa. One of its largest markets is those sending money to friends and family members in their home countries.