非洲最大的跨境数字支付平台MFS Africa正式宣布品牌升级，更名为Onafriq。这次品牌升级体现了公司对未来发展的愿景和雄心。Onafriq中“ona”取自非洲约鲁巴语，表示路径和道路，“afriq”取自法语的非洲（Afrique）。Onafriq还有“One Africa”的理念，即一个相互连接、没有国家界限的非洲大陆。同时，MFS Africa 与友仑集团在中国成立的合资公司MFS Africa Asia也已经启动更名程序，将于近期更名为Onafriq Asia。
公司创始人兼首席执行官Dare Okoudjou表示：“从创立至今，MFS Africa这一品牌已经伴随我们10多年了。然而，MFS Africa所能体现的企业愿景，与我们业务现状和未来10年的发展规划相比，显得有些局限。现在，我们已经不仅仅提供跨境汇款及移动金融服务，我们是为数不多横跨非洲大陆及其他地区的真正全渠道跨境数字支付平台。在迈入下一个成长旅程时，我们需要有一个全新的品牌去充分承载企业的愿景——将分布在非洲各地零散独立的支付系统通过不断连接形成一个统一的支付结算网络，而该网络能够覆盖整个非洲大陆。，触及非洲每一个角落，触达每一个非洲人，并能够服务在非洲生活及营商的每一个个体。”
近年来，Onafiq通过投资，连续收购并整合了众多金融科技公司，其中包括尼日利亚数字化支付平台Baxi、美国金融科技公司Global Technology Partners（非洲最大预付卡运营商）、非洲企业收付款管理公司Beyonic等，并与友仑集团在中国合资成立MFS Africa Asia（将更名为Onafriq Asia）。与此同时，Onafriq在全球各地业务板块的业绩都取得显著成长。在中国，Onafriq Asia与稠州银行、蚂蚁集团旗下万里汇、XTransfer、富友支付等银行和跨境支付机构实现了多种形式的合作，共同搭建起中非跨境支付通路，为义乌、广州等地的众多小商品贸易商和多家中非跨境电商提供便捷的跨境收款服务。而通过本次品牌升级，Onafriq可以将其分布在全球的不同业务都凝聚在同一个品牌下。
公司创始人兼首席执行官Dare Okoudjou补充道：“从一开始，我们的愿景就是建立一个触及非洲每一个角落并能够延续100年以上的支付基础设施，实现‘Make Borders Matter Less’这一目标。”在迈向愿景的过程中，Onafriq将帮助所有非洲人与机会相连，与彼此相连，帮助非洲与全球数字经济相连，与繁荣相连。
MFS Africa Announces Rebrand to Onafriq
[London, 1 November 2023] – MFS Africa, Africa’s largest digital payments network, is thrilled to unveil its new identity:Onafriq. This rebranding is not just a name change but a reflection of the company’s evolution and its vision for the future.
As Dare Okoudjou, founder and CEO, puts it: “The name MFS Africa, just like an old jacket, was getting a little tight for us as we’ve grown. We’ve expanded beyond just mobile financial services, becoming a true omni-channel platform across the continent and beyond. As we embark on this next phase of our journey, we wanted a name that reflects our aspiration of wiring up the whole continent into one network of networks with pathways from and to every African and every African business.”
The decision to rebrand comes after significant growth and several acquisitions, including the recent acquisition of GTP, which expanded the company’s reach to the US market. “The trademark MFS actually belongs to another company in the US, and our ability to use it outside of Africa was becoming difficult,” noted Dare. “With this new name, we can bring everybody together under one brand and identity.
The inspiration behind the new name, Onafriq, stems from the fusion of several powerful words: “Ona”, the Yoruba word for pathways and the French word for Africa, Afrique – plus a nod to IQ, signalling MFS Africa’s commitment to being the smartest game in African fintech.
Onafriq also calls to mind the idea of One Africa, an interconnected borderless continent where access unlocks greater potential.
Okoudjou further added: “From the get-go, my goal was to build a payment infrastructure that touches every corner of Africa and that lasts for over 100 years. My hope is that we get to do that and that we get to make borders truly matter less.”
In today’s fragmented payment landscape, the complexity surrounding cross-border transactions often impedes the free flow of money and inhibits international trade. Onafriq, aims to break down these barriers, paving the way for economic growth and empowerment.
As the group embarks on this exciting chapter, we invite partners, stakeholders, and the entire African community to join us on this path of innovation, collaboration, and progress to make borders matter less for millions of Africans on the continent.
Editors’ note: What does Onafriq mean?
Inspired by the words “ona” (Yoruba for pathway, road, canal or passage) and “afriq” (derived from “Afrique”, French for Africa, while also cueing our collective knowledge or IQ), the name Onafriq echoes our promise to partners and customers: a continent where new paths and new ways of accessing financial solutions are opened up for the benefit of all. In a fragmented payments landscape, where exclusion and complexity continue to hinder the free flow of transactions and ideas, we provide people access to a single, unobstructed route. One that swiftly and seamlessly connects all others, unlocking the full power of cross-border and cross-platform interoperability for people across our continent and beyond. At the same time, Onafriq calls to mind the idea of One Africa, an interconnected borderless continent where access unlocks greater potential. Overcoming barriers by connecting all Africans to opportunity. To each other. To the global digital economy. To more ways. To better ways. To prosperity.
About Onafriq:
Onafriq is an omnichannel network of networks, making borders matter less by providing our partners with a single pathway to unlock the full power of cross-border and cross-platform payment solutions. With a network spanning 40 African markets, Onafriq connects over 500 million mobile money wallets, 200 million bank accounts, and 300,000 agents in Nigeria, enabling domestic and cross-border disbursements and collections, card issuing and processing, agency banking, and treasury services. By connecting global and regional enterprises, mobile network operators, money transfer operators, banks, fintechs, global development organisations, and online and offline merchants, supported by world-class regulatory and compliance capabilities and a strong regional presence in 10 offices in Africa, and others in the UK, US, and China, Onafriq is ushering in a new era of access for people across the African continent and beyond.
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