IFC Partners with Cashi to Expand Digital Payment Services into Central Africa

A partnership was announced between IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Cashi, a fintech company building digital payment infrastructure in Africa, including in Chad through interoperable solutions designed for low-connectivity environments.

Cashi provides a digital payment platform that enables users and businesses to send and receive money via mobile phones, point-of-sale devices and SMS-based tools. The platform connects users with banks, telecoms and other financial institutions within a single interoperable ecosystem, facilitating everyday transactions in an economy where cash remains dominant, and access to formal financial services is limited.

For small businesses, this means fewer constraints when handling cash, lower transaction costs, and better access to financial services, enabling them to grow revenues and support job creation. In Chad, only around 10–15 per cent of adults have a bank or mobile money account, compared to over 30 per cent across sub-Saharan Africa.

Tarneem Saeed, CEO of Cashi, said: “IFC’s upstream support allows us to adapt our proven, crisis-tested platform to the realities of central Africa. This partnership enables us to work closely with regulators and ecosystem partners, build trust with local merchants, and deliver practical financial tools that people can use in their daily lives, even in low-connectivity environments.”

“Expanding access to digital financial services through innovative, tailored solutions is critical in markets where smartphone penetration is low,” said Olivier Buyoya, IFC Division Director for West  Africa. “This project underscores IFC’s commitment to support accessible, low‑tech, and resilient architecture solutions that boost access to finance for individuals and businesses in the Sahel more broadly.”

The partnership aligns with the government’s Tchad Connexion 2030 development agenda, which identifies digitalization and financial inclusion as key enablers of economic diversification, increased revenue collection, and private sector development in Chad. More broadly, this partnership is testimony to IFC’s increasing involvement in the Sahel region, focusing on financial services, agribusiness, digital connectivity, and climate resilience.