The International Finance Corporation (IFC), subsidiary of the World Bank a announced on Monday November 17 a loan financing of 80 million euros ($92.7 million) to orange Mail SA to modernize telecom infrastructures of the country.

The financing of the SFI to Orange Mali is for objective to extend broadband coverage, especially in rural areas, and to facilitate access to digital financial services. The funding is consisting of 50 million euros from the SFI's own resources and of 30 million euros mobilized from the West African Bank of Development (BOAD). It will allow the installation of 300 new 4G antennas and the deployment of a fiber optic network, which will make it possible to connect around 300,000 homes and small businesses, almost half of them in rural areas.

According to Aboubacar Sadikh Diop (photo, center), CEO of Orange Mali, “this partnership strengthens our commitment to digital inclusion and universal access to telecommunications. Thanks to the support of the SFI, we will expand the network coverage, strengthen its resilience and enable more Malians to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the digital economy.”

This financing is the first investment concrete resulting from the partnership signed between IFC and Orange Middle East & Africa (OMEA) at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan in May 2025. He signs up in line with the “Mali Digital 2020” national strategy and the “Digital Economy for Africa” initiative of World Bank Group , aimed at using technology to create jobs, strengthen the resilience and promote sustainable development.

The project also integrates programs from digital training, with the objective that 70% of beneficiaries are women by 2032, contributing to digital equality and empowerment feminine. At the same time, Orange Mali will replace its diesel generators by solar systems, with an estimated reduction of more than 8,000 tons of CO ₂ per year.

This new funding should enable Orange Mali, the country's main operator with more than 12 millions of subscribers, to deploy its network more quickly, to strengthen the connectivity in the most isolated areas and to facilitate digital access for populations that have long been marginalized. This expansion will also open access to new online services already deployed in Mali, such as telemedicine, digital education, and mobile financial services