Ken Kakena began his career in Côte d'Ivoire as a consultant in a management consulting firm specializing in digital transformation. He then worked with numerous telecom operators, assisting them in developing their mobile financial services offerings.
During these years, he was in contact with telecom operators, financial institutions (banks and insurance companies), and a third type of player: merchants, entities with distribution networks, and manufacturers, all of whom are involved in money transfers.
Building on this experience, in 2015 he decided to create Wizall Money with Sébastien Vetter, a third way for mobile money
. What motivated the launch of such a business?
Faced with telecom operators and banks, we wanted to create a more inclusive service offering, with greater simplicity and more economical pricing. Today, Wizall operates in four countries: Senegal, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, and Mali. We hope to continue our pan-African expansion into five or six other countries within the next three years.
How does Wizall work?
Wizall is a mobile money operator offering electronic payment solutions. Launched in Senegal in 2015, Wizall Money offers individuals an innovative mobile money service and organizations a simple and secure solution for paying salaries and bills.
What sets our service apart is that we are based on a B2B2C model. In addition to individuals, our solution targets businesses, governments, corporations, NGOs, and the diaspora. Originally, the mobile money market operated according to this model: depositing money was free, but transferring and withdrawing money was subject to fees, with smaller amounts being taxed more heavily.
Today, we offer a mass payment service for businesses: users pay for the service, but all transactions, receipts, and withdrawals by their beneficiaries are free. Wizall provides an interface for a wide range of operations, including salary payments, regardless of the beneficiary's mobile operator or whether or not they have a Wizall account. If the beneficiary does not have an account, they receive an access code by text message allowing them to withdraw their money at one of our many withdrawal points.
For us, B2B is a way of engaging with the market: by signing up a company, we reach its entire network of suppliers and employees and build a distribution network based on regular money transfers.
We have launched a service that is easy to access, easy to use, secure, and economical. Receiving money transfers is free of charge.
How is this service generally perceived?
Wizall Money is perceived in different ways:
- For businesses, it is an alternative to cash that reduces their operational and security risks.
- For beneficiaries, it is a tool for banking: receiving money in cash perpetuates poverty. How can I save, plan for the future, and insure myself when I am paid in cash? From this perspective, we are perpetuating the informal economy, which leads to financial and social exclusion. Mobile Money is a great alternative in this sense: it allows people to be included in the financial system and in society for free.
As for traders and farmers, they are the economic lifeblood of countries, but they are also in a vulnerable position because they only operate in the informal market. This is a market with no physical or financial security, which gives no freedom to individuals and businesses to develop their activities and create more value.
How do you explain the low rate of access to banking services in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa?
It's a difficult subject to grasp, but I think the problem lies in what is being offered to people. I think that the services offered, particularly by banks and insurance companies, are too expensive and unsuitable. If people are rejecting these offers, it's because they are not suited to their needs. I also think there is a problem with information and accessibility.
Among banks and telecom operators, how do you stand out in the mobile money market?
Our strength lies in our simple and user-friendly customer journey. Secondly, our accessibility: in Senegal, we have 13,000 distribution points, compared to 60 to 80 branches for the largest banking network in Côte d'Ivoire. Accessibility also requires partnerships to create ecosystems in countries with legitimate players who are recognized by their communities. For example, gas stations, which are the heart of a community and known to everyone. Finally, pricing is a major differentiating factor.
We are very well established in Senegal, where we have been present since 2015. We have been well received in Côte d'Ivoire because it is a very dynamic market. In Mali and Burkina Faso, we have just started. There are no cultural factors that are hindering the development of our activities in any of these countries. Our model is relevant for the four countries in which we operate.
What are the prospects for development?
Since the BCP group acquired a majority stake in our capital (2018), following the Total group (2015), we have had great ambitions in terms of service development, beyond our geographical development. We want to position ourselves as a pan-African player in financial inclusion. To do this, we want our wallets to be multi-device. Today, you can access an electronic wallet via our mobile app, but starting this week, users will be able to access it with a card. This card will allow us to expand geographically, develop our services, and also expand into other value chains.
The Wizall card is aimed at customers who do not have smartphones and who wish to make transactions by creating an account. Today, the development of digital finance in Africa has been centered around mobile phones, but phones have their limitations. We now want to break out of this straitjacket by developing new uses.
This Wizall card (which is paid for but very economical compared to the market) will enable companies that need to identify the players they interact with to have greater guarantees and security and to know who they are working with. These companies will therefore be able to identify their staff and suppliers, pay them via this card, and link benefits to the card to improve their living or working conditions.
In terms of financial products, we want to be at the forefront of nano-credit by the end of 2020. We will also develop nano-insurance products and individual and community savings. Since 2008, mobile money has had a very strong impact on electronic payments and transfers between individuals, but it is time to go further and enable the financialization of the African ecosystem.
We have also launched a "wallet" for the diaspora that will enable money transfers between members of the diaspora and their relatives.