Orange will trial an expansion of its financial services in Africa to include credit, savings and national insurance in the coming months, with a view to roll-out across its entire African footprint.

In an interview with Mobile World Live (MWL), Orange Money director Alban Luherne said the trial deployments were likely to take place in Mali, Madagascar and potentially other markets.

The expansion is part of the company’s ongoing strategy to grow its mobile money business, which currently serves over 30 million customers across 17 markets.

As part of this drive, the company will also continue to develop business-to-business services in many of its markets, increase its international money transfer footprint, and continue the roll-out of its full portfolio to its newly launched markets.

During its Q1 financial update, Orange reported mobile money user numbers in Africa and Middle East hit 30.8 million, an increase of 74 per cent year-on-year, which it said was driven by organic growth and the expansion of services in existing markets.

Luherne told MWL the operator also registered the first positive financial impact from Orange acquisitions in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso during the period. He added rapid growth of Orange’s money service means it is on track to meet its 2018 revenue target of €200 million by the end of 2017.

The executive explained Orange’s near-term strategy is to consolidate the “success we’ve had over the last few months,” and boost usage in countries where the service has “not yet” taken off.

Luherne singled out Niger, Guinea-Bissau and Central African Republic as three markets where the company planned to make a concerted effort to grow its service.

“In terms of scope of products and services, our plan is to expand the ecosystem,” he added.

“We will launch the first offers [in credit, savings, and national insurance] in the next semester as a trial and then we will see how this can be grown.”