Axian wins Comoros license for fully digital lender

Axian, the pan African telecom and services group owned by entrepreneur Hassanein Hiridjee, is preparing to launch a fully digital financial institution in Comoros after securing a license from the Central Bank of the Comoros, a move aimed at pushing credit and basic financial services deeper into a country where geography often decides who gets served.

The company said it has obtained a Decentralized Digital Financial Institution license, clearing the way to set up a regulated, branchless entity that will operate under central bank supervision and offer services through mobile devices.

Axian already runs MVola, its mobile money platform in the archipelago, and executives described the new institution as a step up in ambition, one that adds regulated digital lending on top of payments and transfers. Erwan Gelebart, chief executive of Axian’s digibank and fintech cluster, said the license strengthens the group’s digital banking strategy and will complement existing offerings such as MVola and Mixx in other markets.

Initial products will focus on nano loans and micro loans delivered through phones with near instant credit decisions and disbursement, Axian said. The company pitched the service as practical money, aimed at working capital, school and medical expenses, and the small shocks that can derail informal businesses.

Comoros, an island nation off Africa’s east coast, presents a simple problem with stubborn consequences: bank branches are limited, and moving between islands is not a short commute. Axian and the central bank both framed the digital model as a way to sidestep that barrier. Gelebart offered a concrete example, saying a farmer on Anjouan should be able to access microcredit without traveling to a branch.

The timing reflects both need and competition. The central bank’s latest annual report put the banking rate, a measure covering banks and decentralized financial institutions, at 39.23% in 2024, even after years of progress. Financial inclusion, defined as adults holding at least one account with a bank, microfinance institution, or electronic money provider, reached 49.20% in 2024.

Mobile money has helped lift that number. MVola entered the Comorian market in 2019, joining Holo Money operated by the Development Bank of the Comoros in mobile transfers and payments. Competition intensified again with the 2021 launch of Huri Money by Comores Telecom, setting up a fight for customers who may be new to formal finance but are already comfortable with mobile phones.

Axian is betting that lending, done under supervision, can become the next hook. The company said additional products will be rolled out gradually under a measured roadmap, a nod to the risk that fast credit can bring if underwriting is weak or consumer protections lag.

Executives also see Comoros as a test case. The group has signaled that it wants the islands to serve as a pilot market, with the longer term possibility of exporting the model to other African countries where Axian operates, including Madagascar, Senegal, Togo and Tanzania.

Pressure to widen access is not easing. The central bank has projected that financial inclusion in Comoros could reach 75% by 2030, and Axian’s new license gives that target a fresh vehicle, one that blends telecom reach with banking oversight while betting that small, instant loans can bring new users into the formal system.