On September 11 2015, the French telecom operator Orange announced their partnership with France-based charity crowdfunding platform, HelloAsso. Together, these companies are launching Orange Collecte, a mobile crowdfunding platform for users in Côte d’Ivoire.
“With this platform, private individuals and charities can finance their personal (weddings, birthdays, etc.) and charitable projects (fundraising, events, projects, etc.) by making an appeal through their mobile network,” the company stated.
The significance of a mobile crowdfunding platform in Africa shouldn’t be ignored. Data from 2010 on household possession of personal computers and mobile phones in five African countries suggested that while only 14% to 20% of households had PCs, between 49% and 96% had mobile phones.
In a statement, Orange Collecte said that this new company, “embodies the group’s desire to support innovative solutions that meet its customers’ basic needs, while illustrating the issue of developing innovative financial services in Africa.”
Several crowdfunding platforms have launched in Africa recently, including JumpStart Africa, Akabbo and Funda Solva. These platforms are having trouble getting started and attracting funds due a lack of trust in secure payments and the fact that crowdfunding is still relatively new in Africa.
Orange Collecte is only available to fundraisers who use Orange and get a free Orange Money account. The company’s reputation for success may reduce some of these trust issues. Since mobile phones are common, Orange Collecte can reach more people and hopefully gain more traction than its predecessors.
