Orange Money and First Bank Sierra Leone have officially launched a new digital savings partnership aimed at expanding financial inclusion and enabling mobile money users to earn interest on their savings through a flexible investment platform.

The initiative, launched under the slogan “Mek Yu Moni Mek Moni,” allows Orange Money customers to transfer funds directly from their mobile wallets into an investment savings account operated by First Bank Sierra Leone without the need to open a physical bank account.

According to officials during the launch ceremony, the product is designed to provide customers with a secure and convenient way to save money while earning interest on their deposits through various savings tenures of 30, 60, 90 and 120 days.

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Speaking at the launch, Chief Executive Officer of Orange Money Sierra Leone, David Mansaray, described the initiative as a major step toward deepening financial inclusion across the country.

“This is what we call a huge step in building on financial inclusion in Sierra Leone,” Mansaray said. “Most people have money in their wallet, even with mobile money, they just use it as a transit point to send money or make payments. So today, we are putting an end to the act of saving money in your Orange Money account without earning anything.”

He explained that the partnership with First Bank Sierra Leone now enables customers to earn interest from savings kept through the mobile money platform.

“That is why we partnered with First Bank, so that people can start earning interest from their savings. We want your money to help you make money,” he stated.

Mansaray further disclosed that customers can begin saving with as little as one Leone, noting that there is effectively no minimum balance requirement for participation in the scheme.

“In practical terms, there is no minimal balance; you can save whatever amount you want to save, and you start to benefit from that savings,” he said.

He added that the initiative is intended to benefit all categories of Sierra Leoneans, including students, farmers, traders and other mobile money users across the country.

The Orange Money CEO also commended both the management and technical teams of Orange Money and First Bank for their efforts in developing the product, revealing that work on the initiative lasted for about two years.

“They spent two years just to ensure they make it more robust to fit the needs of the customers,” Mansaray noted.

He encouraged members of the public to take advantage of the new service, emphasizing that customers can now save and earn interest from home without visiting a banking hall.

“You don’t have to move from your home to the First Bank to do transactions because you now have the opportunity to save with First Bank through Orange Money and earn interest while seated at home,” he said.

Also speaking during the launch, the Chief Executive Officer of First Bank in Nigeria described the initiative as a landmark achievement in Sierra Leone’s financial sector.

“Today is a unique day in the history of financial inclusion in Sierra Leone,” he said. “This is a dream which started about two years ago.”

According to him, the partnership was developed after both institutions identified the challenge of bringing people outside traditional banking locations into the formal financial ecosystem.

“When we looked at the challenges of getting customers or people outside where banking premises are located to be involved in a financial ecosystem, Orange and First Bank sat together to say, how do we encourage people to save money and make money from their money?” he stated.

The First Bank CEO disclosed that the product received approval from the Bank of Sierra Leone, which regulates the country’s financial system.

“The program being launched today has the approval of the Bank of Sierra Leone, which is the body by law mandated to regulate the financial system within the country,” he said.

He explained that the new product goes beyond the traditional use of mobile money wallets for transfers and payments by creating an avenue for customers to save and earn returns on their money digitally.

“What we are doing today is an addition to the way you save money in your Orange Money wallet and are able to pay for goods and services, whereas with this new program, you can now save money and make interest from that savings without going to the bank,” he added.

Describing the initiative as the first of its kind in the country, the First Bank executive said no other telecom or mobile money operator in Sierra Leone had previously introduced such a digital savings and investment product.

“This is the first of its kind in Sierra Leone. No telecom company, no mobile money company has ever done this. This is a premier and pioneering thing that First Bank and Orange Money has brought to Sierra Leone,” he stated.