This article discusses the potential partnership between French media giant Canal+ and payment innovator Moment, a pan-African payment infrastructure company headquartered in Cape Town. It explores the possibility of Canal+ taking over Moment Global and becoming a global player in the fintech sector.
French media giant weighs global ambitions for Cape Town-based payment innovatorShare current article via FacebookEnter fullscreen mode displaying this image. Could Moment, a pan-African payment infrastructure company headquartered in Cape Town with offices in Dubai, Johannesburg, Lagos, Kigali and London, become a genuine global player following Canal+'s acquisition of MultiChoice, the writer asks.
Picture:When Canal+ finally sealed its acquisition of MultiChoice after years of chasing the deal, the French media group’s executives were crystal clear about their intentions. This was a content play, pure and simple. Canal+ boss Maxime Saada told the Sunday Times that MultiChoice’s “belief in diversification” was the key difference between the two companies.
In plain language, the French were not interested in building a techcentric African octopus; they were interested in a profitable, focused pipeline for their TV and film content. So, when MultiChoice closed Showmax and Canal+ bought back Comcast’s 30% stake before pulling the plug, the writing was on the wall. The diversification experiment was over, or so it seemed.
This week’s announcement that Moment has raised $22m in Series A funding, with fresh investment from Canal+ itself, suggests the French media group has smelt the coffee, and it’s a bold, aromatic brew. I expected Canal+ to sell its shareholding in Moment. Everything about their public posture suggested they viewed MultiChoice’s fintech ambitions as a distraction. The pay-TV business was the prize; everything else was a non-core asset to be sold — or so I thought.
Until Tuesday, when Canal+ chief diversification officer Thomas Follin somewhat surprisingly announced that “following Canal+’s acquisition of MultiChoice, we took a close look at Moment, and we were genuinely impressed. Moment has driven down cost and improved quality simultaneously.
“The business provides world-class technology for enterprise-grade subscription and billing customers that operate in Africa. Together we see a compelling opportunity to expand digital financial access across the continent. ” This is not the language of a company preparing to divest. It is the language of a company that has discovered hidden treasure.
The question now is whether Canal+ has the appetite to take over Moment Global. Could this pan-African payment infrastructure company, headquartered in Cape Town with offices in Dubai, Johannesburg, Lagos, Kigali and London, become a genuine global player? Or will it remain a continental success story, serving Africa’s notoriously fragmented payments landscape? As Canal+ found out, Moment’s performance is undeniably impressive.
Its CEO, Joel Yarbrough, says that within three years of launch the platform is processing 10-million people a month across some of Africa’s leading brands.
“Our platform is highly resilient,” Yarbrough says. “We process 600,000 transactions a day despite power and connectivity problems that plague the market. We’ve built a platform that can deliver on the particular challenges of the African market and help businesses get paid faster and at lower cost. ” That resilience is precisely what makes Moment valuable.
Africa’s payments landscape is notoriously fragmented, with local payment behaviour varying dramatically across markets. Building a platform that can handle 600,000 transactions daily despite power outages and connectivity issues is no small feat. It’s the kind of technology capacity that global investors salivate over.
However, Canal+ is a content company, not a fintech operator. The French media group has built its empire on distributing television and film content, not on processing payments across fragmented African markets. Diversifying into fintech would require a fundamental shift in corporate culture, investment strategy and risk appetite. Yet the opportunity is compelling.
World Bank estimates suggest that by 2050 Africa’s population will have grown from 1.5-billion to 2.5-billion, with more young Africans than the rest of the world combined projected to enter the workforce each year from around 2035. That’s a demographic dividend that fintech companies are perfectly positioned to capture. Canal+ has a choice. It can keep Moment as a continental play, serving Africa’s largest businesses with its world-class payment infrastructure.
Or it can use its global reach and resources to expand Moment beyond Africa, a move that would diversify the French media group’s revenue streams and possibly excite investors. Such expansion could also benefit a local company to expand its operations and be innovative as it tackles new markets. New payment methods can be developed and customised for the African markets as well. I suspect Canal+ will take the cautious approach.
The French media group has proved to be methodical, pragmatic and risk-averse when it comes to its core business. Sign up or sign in now.
Please follow us on Google to support usCanal+ Moment Global Ambitions Pan-African Payment Infrastructure Fintech Africa's Payments Landscape Resilience Challenges Global Investors Demographic Dividend Risk Appetite
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Facing All Blacks will be magic moment for Stormers, says DobsonIt will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the Stormers when they line up to face the All Blacks in the opening game of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour which kicks off in Cape Town on Friday, coach John Dobson says.
Read more »
UEFA Expands African Broadcasting Deals; Canal+ Makes Strategic Push for Sports RightsUEFA has inked a major broadcasting agreement in Sub-Saharan Africa, granting SuperSport exclusive rights to men's club competitions while Canal+ secures Champions League and expanded rights in French-speaking regions, signaling a strategic shift toward live sports dominance amid declining entertainment investments.
Read more »
New innings: JP Duminy steps out with someone newFormer Proteas batter JP Duminy has confirmed a new relationship, going Instagram official with partner Alannah White more than a year after his marriage to Sue Duminy came to an end.
Read more »
MultiChoice fintech unit Moment raises over R360m to expand African paymentsMultiChoice-affiliated fintech startup Moment has raised more than R900m to develop payment infrastructure businesses
Read more »