Wave Mobile Money raises $137M debt financing led by Rand Merchant Bank

On 30 June 2025, Wave Mobile Money announced a EUR 117 million ($137 million) debt financing facility led by Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) with participation from development finance institutions British International Investment (BII), Finnfund and Norfund. The facility strengthens the company’s working capital position and supports accelerated growth in existing and new markets across West Africa.

The capital is intended to bolster agent liquidity/float, expand infrastructure, deepen penetration in core markets such as Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, and facilitate entry or scaling in additional countries. This debt raise follows Wave’s 2021 $200M Series A that established its unicorn status at $1.7 billion and brings cumulative funding to approximately $439 million.

Wave continues to position itself as a low-cost alternative to traditional mobile money operators and telecom-led services, emphasizing financial inclusion for underserved users through its 1% transfer fee model and extensive agent network.

Wave Mobile Money operates a mobile-first platform that enables users to send and receive money, pay bills, and access other financial services with zero fees for deposits and withdrawals and a flat 1% fee on peer-to-peer transfers. The company has built its own agent network and focuses on affordability, intuitive design, and 24/7 customer support to serve populations historically excluded from formal financial systems.

It primarily serves markets in West Africa, including Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mali, Gambia, Niger, Cameroon and others, with over 20 million monthly active users, more than 150,000 agents, and over 3,000 employees (figures as of mid-2025). Wave’s business model emphasizes high-volume, low-margin transactions and partnerships with regulators and local institutions to drive digital financial inclusion and reduce reliance on cash.

Founded in 2018 by Drew Durbin and Lincoln Quirk (previously behind Sendwave), the company became Francophone Africa’s first unicorn following a $200M Series A in 2021 at a $1.7B valuation.