Decoding Francophone Africa: What Every Founder Should Know Before Expanding

When founders think about Francophone Africa, the instinct is often to view it as one large, unified market bound by French language and shared currencies. But as Aicha Touré - Venture Partner (Francophone) at Ventures Platform and former CEO of Orange Money Mali - explains, the reality is far more complex. Beneath the surface, the region is deeply fragmented, shaped by diverse cultural identities, linguistic layers, and regulatory ecosystems that require local adaptation at every step.

For founders, success depends not on treating Francophone Africa as a monolith, but on navigating its nuances with sensitivity, agility, and long-term vision.

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Beyond the Surface: Understanding Fragmentation

On paper, Francophone Africa looks connected: French is the lingua franca, and regional currencies like the West African CFA (XOF) and Central African CFA (XAF) are pegged to the euro. But Touré cautions against assumptions.

“French may be official, but dozens of local languages dominate daily life - they strongly influence customer behavior. These cultural and linguistic nuances must be taken into account when designing offerings,” she explains. What resonates in Côte d’Ivoire may fall flat in Cameroon or the DRC.

The same is true economically. Côte d’Ivoire has positioned itself as a regional tech hub, Senegal boasts one of the more mature fintech ecosystems, while Cameroon anchors Central Africa. In contrast, markets like Niger or the DRC remain early in their digital transformation journeys.

Currency stability does not equate to seamless trade either. XOF and XAF do not interoperate easily, and other countries, like Guinea and the DRC, maintain independent currencies.

“Transacting between these two zones is just as complex as trading with other African regions.” she says. 

The result: Founders must plan for market-by-market adaptation, not continental uniformity.

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Regulation and Business Culture: Navigating the Layers

Fintech regulation in the region is not only multi-tiered, but also highly country-specific. The BCEAO governs West Africa, BEAC oversees Central Africa, and independent central banks regulate countries like Guinea and the DRC. Even within the same zone, each country demands separate approvals - often slowing expansion plans.

But beyond regulation, culture drives outcomes. Culturally, neighboring countries can be quite distinct. While they may share borders, each has developed a unique identity. Countries in West Africa and Central Africa often differ in governance approaches, consumer behaviors, and risk appetites.

“Some countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, are forming closer alliances. However, they remain landlocked and depend heavily on neighboring countries for trade,” she explains.

Many countries have deeply rooted merchant traditions, shaped by pre-colonial trade networks. Informal networks thrive, and collaboration with local champions is critical.

“Relationships are essential,” Touré emphasizes. “Founders should take time to build alliances with key players including regulators, telcos, banks, and energy companies. Acknowledging local champions, understanding their influence, and collaborating with them is often critical to success.”

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Scaling Lessons from Orange Money Mali

Touré’s leadership journey at Orange Money Mali offers a rare playbook on scaling financial inclusion in competitive, regulated markets. Under her tenure, Orange Money Mali became the Group’s largest mobile money operator, powered by disciplined execution and relentless customer focus.

“At Orange Money Mali, we went through several phases, from expanding financial services in rural areas to facing fierce competition from VC-backed fintechs. Unlike many of our competitors, our shareholder (Orange) focused on short-term profitability and regulatory compliance.” She says. 

For Toure’s team, this meant that they had to be agile, while also maintaining a strong cost structure and disciplined execution.

“We frequently restructured our pricing models to align with user expectations, proving that customer-centricity must be dynamic” she recalls. 

Explaining how critical customer-centricity was, she explains, “Listening, adapting, and evolving were essential. We prioritized customer experience across all channels - mobile app, USSD, agent network, and customer service - which helped us achieve one of the highest Net Promoter Scores in the Orange Group.”

Distribution proved decisive. With limited banking penetration, Orange built a 65,000-strong agent network and onboarded 25,000 merchants - assets that secured reach and retention.

Her biggest lesson for founders: Adapt to market evolution. Products must grow and change alongside the needs and behaviors of the market and this transformation must be local.

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Building Local Teams That Scale

For Touré, people strategy was central to Orange Mali’s success. She prioritized recruiting and training local talent, focusing more on mindset and mission-fit than résumés. Many of these hires went on to become strong leaders within the company.

“We recruited many young professionals, trained them internally, and watched them grow into strong leaders. This investment led to loyalty, cultural alignment, and a deep understanding of the organization,” she notes. Yet she also champions regional collaboration, having worked alongside colleagues from Senegal, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Togo. This blended approach - locally grounded but regionally enriched - built resilience and adaptability across teams.

“While hiring locally is usually more efficient, bringing in talent from across the region can be enriching. In Mali, I worked with colleagues from countries like Senegal, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Togo etc. Each brought a unique perspective, but shared a strong cultural understanding that made collaboration easy and productive.” she explains.

For founders, she advises that the key is to build blended teams, locally grounded but open to regional collaboration. While regulatory environments vary, bringing in regional or international talent is often feasible and highly valuable for strategic roles.

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The Golden Rule: Embrace Complexity

If Touré had to leave founders with one rule for Francophone expansion, it would be this: treat the region as a mosaic, not a single market.

“Understand that you're entering many small, fragmented markets, not one big one,” she says.

She asks founders to approach the region with resilience, flexibility, and respect for its diversity.

“You won’t acquire a million users in a single market, but success in one country can serve as proof of concept for regional expansion. Be resilient, flexible, and respectful of the region’s diversity, whether regulatory, cultural, or economic,” she advises.

Her golden rule: There is complexity but within that complexity lies opportunity. Be prepared to listen, localize, and iterate. The path may be challenging, but the rewards are significant for those who stay the course.

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The Next Wave: Beyond Mobile Money

Having led mobile money’s rise in Mali, Touré now sees the next frontier of inclusion in areas like digital credit, insurance, cross-border remittances, and stablecoins. These sectors, she argues, offer fertile ground for fintechs that can leverage telco infrastructure.

“Even with the success of operators like Orange and MTN, there is still significant untapped potential in areas like digital credit, insurance, cross-border remittances, and stablecoins. These represent opportunities where startups can innovate and build on existing telco infrastructure,” she says.

But she also highlights a broader opportunity: artificial intelligence. “I’ve seen firsthand how AI is transforming ecosystems in the U.S. Africa cannot afford to be left behind. If we can develop localized AI solutions, addressing real African challenges, we can unlock transformative opportunities in agriculture, health, education, energy access, and even governance. The mobile money revolution showed us what’s possible. Now, AI can help us leap forward again.”

The lesson for founders is clear: The next wave of inclusion is not only about reaching more people, it’s about serving them better, and startups are best positioned to lead that transformation.

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Final Thoughts

For founders eyeing Francophone Africa, the temptation is to assume commonality. Aicha Touré’s career spanning pan-African fintech, regulatory negotiations, and local talent-building, tells a different story. Success comes from listening, localizing, and iterating.

Yes, the region is complex. But for those prepared to build with its diversity rather than against it, the opportunity is immense.

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About Aicha Touré

Aicha is Venture Partner (Francophone) at Ventures Platform, where she provides strategic support for founders navigating growth in Francophone markets, particularly those expanding into Francophone Africa. 

She previously served as Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Orange Mali, where she spearheaded key initiatives, including expanding 4G, fiber, and energy access. When she assumed the office of the CEO of Orange Money Mali, she led the company to become the country’s leader in financial inclusion and the largest mobile money operation within the Orange Group. 

Aicha holds a Master’s in Engineering from CentraleSupélec and is currently pursuing an Executive MBA at MIT as a Sloan Fellow, where she is deepening her expertise in data analytics and sustainability, while remaining committed to advancing digital and financial inclusion across Africa.

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