Group wants to capture a substantial portion of the Orange Money market
Secures partnerships with two banks for Agency Banking
Sefalana Holdings announced its intentions to explore opportunities in the mobile money sector, leveraging Botswana’s substantial unbanked population.
The group’s strategic pivot towards financial services underscores its commitment to innovation and diversification, positioning the company for sustained growth in the dynamic Botswana market where FMCG is punctuated by completion and supply chain disruptions.
The group’s Finance Director, Mohamed Osman, highlighted the potential of this venture during the results presentation, emphasizing the vast array of products that could be introduced. “That’s a space we can quite easily play in”.
Osman, who recently conducted a benchmarking trip to Dubai, underscored the importance of acquiring the necessary skill set to drive this aspect of the business effectively. Additionally, Sefalana is actively evaluating the most suitable platform to deliver these services.
The overarching goal for the group is to establish a mobile money ecosystem akin to Orange Money, potentially integrating this mobile money wallet with its retail operations. Osman is mindful that Orange Money currently commands a significant market share, with approximately 55% penetration among Botswana’s adult population.
Drawing from Sefalana’s existing customer base of nearly 400,000 loyalty members, Osman expressed confidence in capturing a substantial portion of the market, estimating access to around 30% of the population. Confidently, he said, “…and we are competing at a sizable level with Orange Money.”
Sefalana’s ambition is something to watch, which Osman emphasises “is not going to happen in the 6-12 months”. “The cost of bringing the platform is not small but it is something that we want to do.”
Financial services is a new and exciting sector for the company. This division provides Bureau de Change services to its customers along with international electronic money transfers. The group said this new and exciting service offering has been well received by the market in a very short space of time. Sefalana currently operates this from 11 branches including its kiosk at the Maun International Airport. The company plans to expand these services based on market demand, aligning with its objective of providing comprehensive solutions to customers.
“At the moment we are one of the best in the country in terms of all these channels.”
Osman emphasized the strategic rationale behind this expansion, citing the company’s extensive retail footprint as a catalyst for offering financial services. Sefalana’s FMCG business consisted of four hyperstores, 25 cash and carry stores, 32 supermarket retail stores, 58 liquor stores, four convenience stores, and one catering outlet, giving the Group a total of 124 stores in Botswana.
Osman drew parallels with successful models employed by other retailers like Shoprite and Checkers, which have integrated financial service counters within their stores to enhance customer convenience.
“We wanted to start simple by doing foreign exchange transfers and Bureau.”
While ruling out immediate plans for obtaining a banking license, Osman revealed Sefalana’s foray into agency banking, having secured partnerships with two banks to facilitate banking transactions through its retail outlets. This initiative aims to further streamline customer interactions, enabling a wide range of banking services to be conducted conveniently at Sefalana’s kiosks.
“Soon we will go live with it. As a bank customer, you will be able to go to the store to do most of the transactions, such as deposits and withdrawals. money transfers, etc at our kiosk.”
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