(Ecofin Agency) - French operator Orange clinched a partnership agreement with the Ivorian group Nouvelle Société Interafricaine d’Assurance (NSIA) to offer banking services in West Africa, through a joint-venture 75%-held by Orange and the remaining 25% owned by NSIA, Bloomberg reports.

The partnership targets retail, micro credit and insurance services. Under the agreed terms, the joint-venture will use assets from Diamonds Bank Plc, francophone subsidiary of Nigeria’s giant Diamond Bank acquired in November 2017 by NSIA.

Operations will initially be deployed in Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal, before extending to other countries in the sub-region, where Orange already operates, such as Mali. The two partners plan to submit an accreditation request to the Central Bank of West African States (CBWAS) by the end of the month.

Let’s recall that Orange launched the “Orange Bank” banking service in late 2017. This 100% online bank, which relies on free access and customers’ network to develop, targets a €400 million turnover in 2018.