Mountaga DIOP

Vince Mountaga Diop is a prominent entrepreneur and fintech pioneer, particularly known for his contributions to digital finance in Ethiopia and across Africa. Below is a detailed overview of what I’ve gathered about him based on available information:

Background and Early Life

• Heritage and Childhood: Vince Mountaga Diop was born in France to a Senegalese father and a Dutch mother. He spent part of his childhood in Ethiopia, where he developed a deep connection to the country—so much so that he gave all six of his children Ethiopian names. He attended Lycée Guébré-Mariam School in Ethiopia for four years during his teenage years.
• Education: In 1979, Diop left Ethiopia for Senegal to further his education. He enrolled in the elite military school of polytechnic of Thies (Senegal), focusing on STEM fields , he completed his studies with a management certificate of the Ecole International de Bordeaux and was the first Senegalese admitted at the Leadership Academy of Japan (JCE)  . Later, he moved to Canada to enhance his IT skills, which laid the foundation for his career in technology.

Career and Entrepreneurial Journey

• Early Career in Senegal: Diop began his career in Senegal, where he headed the computer department of the municipality of Dakar at a young age. By 26, he was an active member of the Senegalese National IT Commission, working under the supervision of the head of state. During this time, he implemented Dakar’s vital events registration database. Four years later, he became an advisor to Senegal’s head of state, making him the country’s youngest advisor at the time. He has noted that this role gave him insight into how nations plan their development in the IT space.
• First Venture—AlphaCad (1995): Diop started his entrepreneurial journey by founding AlphaCad in 1995, the first Senegalese IT company to outsource its services to the French market, marking his early success as a tech entrepreneur.
• Move to Canada (2000): In 2000, Diop relocated to Canada, where he gained experience in distributing payment and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services, further honing his expertise in technology and digital solutions.
• Relocation to the Netherlands (2008): Eight years later, Diop moved to the Netherlands, a country known for its innovative regulatory framework. There, he co-founded World Open Services (WOS), a venture focused on developing IT solutions using a Platform as a Service (PaaS) model. WOS initially aimed to create a worldwide exchange platform for “live” services, ensuring that users in emerging countries could provide services, be remunerated, and cash out their earnings easily.

Focus on Africa and Founding BelCash

• Shift to the African Market (2010): In 2010, WOS turned its focus to the African market. Diop, along with his Ethiopian partners, founded BelCash Technology Solutions PLC (BCTS) in Ethiopia. This decision was spurred by a personal experience in Addis Ababa, where Diop and his co-founder Abraham Gulilat noticed the inefficiencies in Ethiopia’s banking system—such as a bank check taking four hours to process. They saw Ethiopia, with its population of over 100 million, as a significant market opportunity for technological innovation in financial services.
• HelloCash Platform: Under the BelCash brand, Diop and his team launched HelloCash, a mobile money platform that has become a cornerstone of Ethiopia’s fintech landscape. By 2020, HelloCash had over 1.4 million subscribers, and by 2022, it recorded a milestone of 200 billion birr (approximately $7 billion) in transactions since its inception in 2015. Notably, 100 billion birr of those transactions occurred in the last year alone, reflecting rapid growth. By 2024, HelloCash had facilitated over 300 million transactions, totaling $7 billion in less than six years.
• HelloSolar (2017): In 2017, Diop founded HelloSolar in Ethiopia, a venture independent of the BelCash Group. HelloSolar is a solar home-based factory operating on a pay-as-you-go model, aimed at providing sustainable energy solutions to Ethiopian households.
• HellOOpass (2024): In 2024, Diop spearheaded the launch of HellOOpass, a platform embodying the PaaS model. HellOOpass focuses on digital trading and financing solutions, serving a wide range of users—from farmers to SMEs, retail shops, distributors, aggregators, and processors—catering to diverse marketplace needs across the value chain.

Leadership and Vision

• Role at BelCash: As the CEO and founder of BelCash Technology Solutions PLC, Diop is described as a passionate leader. His vision is to connect African markets and build a thriving cashless economy across the continent. BelCash has been recognized as one of Ethiopia’s leading fintech companies, often described as the “Visa card for the poor” due to its focus on financial inclusion for underserved populations.
• Pan-African Dream: Diop defines himself as a “Global Citizen with a Pan-African dream.” He is committed to fostering local innovation to drive growth across Africa, emphasizing the integration of the informal economy into the formal economy. He believes platforms like HelloCash can empower African youth by encouraging self-entrepreneurship, enabling them to become their own employers.
• Impact on Digital Finance: Diop’s work has significantly reshaped Ethiopia’s financial sector by banking the unbanked. BelCash’s platforms have been adopted by three banks and one microfinance institution in Ethiopia, providing services to urban economies, small businesses (like taxi drivers and street vendors), and rural farmers. The platform also integrates e-commerce capabilities, allowing users to buy and sell goods and services.