MFS Africa, an African’s digital payments network, has announced that it has rebranded to a new name, Onafriq.
The inspiration behind the new name, Onafriq, stems from the fusion of several words: Ona, the Yoruba word for pathways and the French word for Africa, Afrique – plus a nod to IQ.
Dare Okoudjou, founder and CEO, “The name MFS Africa, just like an old jacket, was getting a little tight for us as we’ve grown. We’ve expanded beyond just mobile financial services, becoming a true omni-channel platform across the continent and beyond. As we embark on this next phase of our journey, we wanted a name that reflects our aspiration of wiring up the whole continent into one network of networks with pathways from and to every African and every African business.”
The decision to rebrand comes after significant growth and several acquisitions, including the recent acquisition of GTP, which expanded the company’s reach to the US market. “The trademark MFS actually belongs to another company in the US, and our ability to use it outside of Africa was becoming difficult,” noted Dare. “With this new name, we can bring everybody together under one brand and identity.
Onafriq is an omnichannel network of networks, making borders matter less by providing our partners with a single pathway to unlock the full power of cross-border and cross-platform payment solutions.
It has a network spanning 40 African markets and it connects with mobile money wallets, bank accounts, and agents in Nigeria, enabling domestic and cross-border disbursements and collections, card issuing and processing, agency banking, and treasury services. By connecting global and regional enterprises, mobile network operators, money transfer operators, banks, fintechs, global development organisations, and online and offline merchants, supported by world-class regulatory and compliance capabilities and a strong regional presence in 10 offices in Africa, and others in the UK, US, and China.