Ooredoo and Huawei Partner on Mobile Money in MENA Region

Ooredoo and Huawei have partnered on mobile money in the Middle East and North Africa.

This collaboration will provide Huawei’s FinTech and mobile money platform to Ooredoo’s operating companies in the information and communications technology (ICT) space in the region, the companies said in a Sunday (March 5) press release.

“Our plan in 2023 is to evolve our FinTech marketplace to other markets within our footprint, enabling us to simplify everyday financial transactions and drive financial inclusion,” Ooredoo Group Managing Director and Group CEO Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo said in the release. “This new partnership agreement with Huawei will solidly underpin our efforts in this field.”

Even though millions of people in the MENA region have limited access to conventional bank accounts and reliable financial infrastructure, a combination of high smartphone penetration and a young, tech-savvy population has helped to bridge the gap to mobile or digital purchases, TPay Mobile CEO and Founder Sahar Salama told PYMNTS in an interview posted in April 2022.

The merger has brought millions of unbanked and underbanked individuals into the financial fold, enabling them to pay for goods and services using their mobile devices, Salama said at the time.

PYMNTS research has found that consumers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are especially prone to using their smartphones to enhance their shopping experience, whether online or in-store.

Compared to consumers in five other countries that were included in the report — Australia, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States — those in the UAE were found to be most likely to use their smartphones during their shopping journey and to have completed their most recent purchase entirely through their smartphones, according to “The 2022 Global Digital Shopping Index: UAE Edition,” a PYMNTS and Cybersource collaboration.

Ooredoo Group already has a 35% share of the transaction value of mobile money in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, according to the press release.

With the new partnership, the group will use Huawei’s platform to provide mobile-first financial services in Ooredoo’s markets for both consumers and merchants, the release said.

“This agreement is an important step forward to foster our long-term strategic partnership with Ooredoo,” Huawei President of Carrier BG Li Peng said in the release. “Huawei is committed to providing industry-leading technology with purpose, that will ensure the realization of this project and help Ooredoo achieve business success.”