Fintech leader Moussa Thiemoko Dao has more than 20 years’ experience in Africa and will drive Afrimoney’s next phase of growth
Africell, the only American-owned mobile network operator in Africa, has appointed Moussa Thiemoko Dao as Group Chief Mobile Money Officer. Moussa will lead the Group’s mobile money strategy, overseeing the Afrimoney brand across Africell’s four operating markets: Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
Moussa has spent more than two decades building and scaling mobile money businesses in Africa and beyond. He has served as Vice President, Francophone Africa at Airtel Money Africa; Executive Director of Orange Money in Cameroon and Botswana; and Chief Executive Officer and Board Member at CANAL+ Group. Most recently, he was Senior Advisory Consultant for Digital Payments and Fintech at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), advising financial institutions and fintechs on market expansion, regulatory engagement and inclusive digital payments. He holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and a degree in business economics from Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar.
Africa is the engine of global mobile money. According to the GSMA’s State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026, transactions worldwide passed US$2 trillion in 2025, with Africa accounting for roughly two-thirds of that value. Sub-Saharan Africa now has 1.2 billion registered accounts and the world’s highest rate of mobile money ownership: 40% of adults hold an account, and for one in five it is their only financial account.
Supported by Afrimoney, Africell’s markets are part of this shift. The Gambia launched an interoperable real-time payments system linking banks, telcos and fintechs in late 2025, Sierra Leone has introduced its own instant payment system, and real-time payment volumes in Angola have grown significantly in the past five years from a low base. In the DRC, the opportunity to bring digital financial services to millions more people across its vast territory is hugely exciting.
Moussa’s experience scaling operator-led mobile money in both francophone and anglophone markets, and his work with regulators and development finance institutions, will help Afrimoney move beyond transfers into merchant payments, cross-border remittances, savings and credit: areas where demand is growing fastest, awareness and understanding is limited, and costs for customers remain too high.
Ziad Dalloul, CEO, president and founder of Africell Group, says: “Mobile money is central to how millions of Africans live and do business, and Afrimoney has significant reach and momentum. Moussa has operated mobile money businesses at scale across the continent. His leadership will help us bring more people into the financial system and give them more reasons to use Afrimoney every day.”
Moussa Thiemoko Dao, Group Chief Mobile Money Officer, Africell, said: “Afrimoney has strong foundations and enormous room to grow. Africell already connects millions of people across Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Angola and the DRC. I am excited to work with our teams to build financial services that are instant, reliable and trusted by households and businesses alike.”