Gambia: InTouch, the Ministry of Finance, and the GRA join forces to secure state revenues

The Senegalese group InTouch today signed a strategic partnership agreement with the Gambian Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA). This fintech company, founded in Dakar and already a partner of the administrations of five African countries, has thus secured another prestigious contract.

The ceremony brought together Seedy KM Keita, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs and supervisory authority of the GRA, and Omar Cissé, founder and CEO of InTouch Group. It concluded an international tender launched by the Gambian authorities to secure tax revenues, particularly those from online gaming, a rapidly growing sector in which the government now intends to track every halasi due. Selected from among three candidates, InTouch will support The Gambia for ten years.

A trusted third party between the state, operators, and users

InTouch will act as an independent trusted third party for the Gambian tax administration, focusing on three key areas. First, monitoring will enable real-time tracking of transactions and public revenues, providing the government with a consolidated and reliable view of its cash flows. Second, payment processing will rely on a secure and interoperable infrastructure to collect and execute government payments, regardless of the channel used. Finally, oversight and control will utilize audit and alert tools designed to limit revenue leakage and enhance accountability.

In practical terms, the state will no longer rely solely on taxpayers' declarations to know what is owed to it. It will have its own real-time data source, thereby strengthening its budgetary control by anticipating revenues and managing expenditures with greater precision.

"This is an important reform, and the entire government will be mobilized for its implementation," said Seedy KM Keita, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs.

Five countries, more than five years of experience

For over five years, InTouch has been assisting governments, tax authorities, and public treasuries in securing their financial flows. Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Gabon, Burkina Faso, and Guinea-Bissau already rely on InTouch, in both the WAEMU and CEMAC zones, and in both Francophone and Lusophone countries. With The Gambia, the group is now extending its model to an Anglophone country, confirming its ability to transcend linguistic and monetary barriers.

Financial sovereignty, a strategic issue

For Omar Cissé, the issue goes beyond the technical: data on a country's financial flows and the collection of revenues due to national budgets must remain under the control of states, while these tools are still too often designed and operated outside the continent.

“We are proud to support Gambia, a brother country, in securing its public finances. Our model is based on a conviction: African technology, designed for African realities, at the service of transparency and the financial sovereignty of States.” emphasizes the CEO of InTouch.

Beyond control, bringing taxation closer to citizens

InTouch's expertise extends beyond revenue monitoring. The group offers government agencies solutions that cover the entire tax chain. Taxpayers can pay their taxes and fees wherever they are, without travel or waiting in line, via mobile money, partner points of sale, or field agents. Tax authorities, for their part, have a control tool that provides complete payment traceability, automatic reconciliation, and dashboards to identify discrepancies.

These solutions meet the needs of states seeking to broaden their tax base without increasing the pressure on taxpayers who are already fulfilling their obligations.

Expertise born in Dakar

Founded in Dakar in 2014, InTouch has established its engineering teams there. It is from Dakar that the solutions now deployed in Banjul, Abidjan, Bissau, Yaoundé and Libreville are designed.

This expertise aligns with the priorities set by the Senegalese authorities regarding the mobilization of domestic resources, economic sovereignty and transparency of public finances.

The signing of Banjul thus serves as a reminder: African financial sovereignty is also built with African champions.