YMO, a Franco-Guinean start-up, has closed a new funding round led by Breega and INCO Ventures to accelerate the deployment of its mobile payment services in West Africa and Europe.
Since its creation in 2019, this YMO has had a clear ambition: to become an African digital finance champion. This new round of financing will allow the start-up to develop beyond the French and Guinean borders where it has already managed to attract nearly a million customers.
Following a funding round that began eight months ago, YMO closed its seed round in mid-February. Several venture capital investment funds, including Breega and INCO Ventures, have placed their trust in YMO.
“Breega, a pan-European venture capital fund dedicated to high-impact start-ups, is proud to support YMO in the deployment of its services and supports this young start-up promising African. We are convinced of the essential role played by Fintechs, allowing in particular to create added value and to respond to the weaknesses of the banking and the financial system in Africa. The support given to YMO is part of this approach, that of strengthening its position on the market and being a key player in West Africa,” says Ben Marrel, CEO and one of the co-founders of Breega.
“With the aim of providing banking services to as many people as possible, YMO is in the worthy line Impact Fintechs. INCO Ventures is proud to promote this new African champion who combines ambition and financial inclusion”, adds Carole Cazassus, Director of Investments, at INCO Ventures.
Founded in 2019 by Abdoulaye Barry, YMO began by offering a payment service instant mobile between France and Guinea. In October 2022, following obtaining his approval as an electronic money issuer with the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea, the start-up successfully launches its local payment service.
Today, YMO attracts nearly one million users. While the penetration rate of smartphones in Africa will reach 70% in 2024 and monetary transactions via mobile money are experiencing a sharp increase, YMO’s services are intended to extend to all of West Africa, to reach African populations wherever they are situated.
In addition to its expansion, YMO plans to strengthen its Tech and compliance workforce. The young start-up aims to recruit around twenty new employees to expand its R&D team (developers, data scientists, UX designers, project managers), but also its compliance department in Europe and Africa.
“This fundraising will allow us to continue our development on the basis of health. We intend to build a sustainable business that responds to real needs and substantially improves the lives of our customers. With the ambition of transforming the daily lives of more than a billion people in Africa, the support of Breega and INCO Ventures reinforces our determination to build, together, a champion of African digital finance. Our thanks go to those who support the key stages of this project”, concludes Abdoulaye Barry, founder and CEO of YMO.
