BRAND WAVE MOBILE MONEY
Building a trusted fintech brand in West Africa.
Services
Creative Leadership, Brand Design, Product Launches and Market Expansion, Social Media and Community Engagement, Advertising Campaigns, Team Development and Growth
Role
Head of Brand Marketing and Design
When
2022 - 2024




PROJECT OVERVIEW
Wave Mobile Money (Wave) is revolutionizing financial access in West Africa, providing affordable and accessible digital payment solutions across Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Uganda. As Head of Brand Marketing & Design, Mab led the charge in scaling Wave’s brand presence and creative operations, transforming the company’s marketing into a high-performance, insight-driven function. Through culturally resonant storytelling, localized campaigns, and scalable creative production, her work helped accelerate adoption, build trust, and fuel growth across multiple regions.
KEY IMPACT
45% growth in monthly transactions in Côte d’Ivoire and The Gambia between 2023 and 2024, driven by integrated go-to-market strategies.
40% YoY user acquisition growth in Senegal between 2022 and 2024 through brand trust-building and hyper-localized marketing efforts.
CHALLENGE
Expanding financial inclusion across West Africa required overcoming entrenched cash-based habits, varying levels of digital literacy, and fragmented media landscapes. Trust, simplicity, and cultural relevance were critical in shifting behaviors. Additionally, the operational challenge of scaling marketing and creative production across multiple countries with diverse languages and regulatory environments demanded an agile, scalable approach.
AUDIENCE INSIGHT
Financial transactions in West Africa are deeply tied to social relationships, meaning trust and word-of-mouth influence are essential. Successful adoption of digital wallets required marketing strategies that spoke directly to these cultural dynamics. Storytelling through video, local languages, and peer-driven endorsements proved key to building credibility and encouraging widespread adoption.
STRATEGY
Mab developed a marketing and creative framework that balanced scalability with deep regional relevance. By streamlining creative workflows, building a flexible design system, and integrating on-the-ground insights, Wave’s campaigns maintained consistency while adapting to local market needs. A multi-channel approach—spanning social, influencer marketing, OOH, TV, and radio—ensured broad reach, while high-volume content production enabled real-time engagement. This combination of operational efficiency and audience-centric messaging positioned Wave as a trusted financial partner in communities across West Africa.
PROJECT EXECUTION
With a clear strategic foundation in place, Mab led the end-to-end execution of Wave’s marketing and design initiatives—scaling creative production, refining operational workflows, and delivering localized campaigns that resonated across diverse markets. She established a streamlined design system, optimized team processes, and launched high-impact, multi-channel campaigns, ensuring both speed and consistency at scale. The following sections detail how these efforts translated into tangible business growth.
Marketing and Design Leadership
Mab led the end-to-end creative and marketing strategy, ensuring a seamless brand experience across all touchpoints. She established a scalable brand design system that reduced creative turnaround time, allowing teams to execute quickly without sacrificing quality.
To enhance community-driven engagement, she worked closely with local teams to ensure that social media, influencer partnerships, and customer communications were highly localized—strengthening brand trust and increasing Wave’s social engagement.
Product Launches and Market Expansion
For Wave’s expansion into Côte d'Ivoire (2023) and The Gambia (2024), Mab led 360° go-to-market strategies, leveraging:
Localized storytelling with culturally specific messaging.
Influencer partnerships to drive organic adoption.
Multi-channel media activations spanning social, OOH, TV, and radio.
A standout Ramadan campaign in Senegal (2023) further strengthened Wave’s presence in daily financial life through culturally sensitive messaging and creativity.
Social Media and Community Engagement
Mab implemented a scalable content strategy across six markets, ensuring hyper-localized brand storytelling. Her team strengthened brand affinity by working with regional influencers, content creators, and community leaders, driving increased engagement.
The Independence Day campaign series was a key highlight, celebrating each country’s national identity and reinforcing Wave’s deep connection with local communities.
Team Development and Growth
As Wave marketing needs expanded, Mab played a critical role in recruiting and structuring the brand design and marketing teams across EMEA. She built:
A structured onboarding program to accelerate new team members’ impact.
A performance review framework to drive growth and accountability.
Market immersion initiatives to deepen cultural understanding and enhance creative effectiveness.
To improve collaboration and efficiency across marketing, design, and regional teams, she implemented a project intake process and onboarded the team onto Wrike, streamlining the review and sign-off process for cross-functional campaign work. These operational improvements reduced bottlenecks, increased transparency, and enabled faster execution at scale.
Additionally, Mab co-hosted a speaker series with the Dakar Design Hub, fostering learning around African design, craft, and culture, and enriching creative output.

COLLABORATOR CREDITS
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Head of Brand Marketing and Design: Meredith Ann Brooks; (Design and Creative) Art Director: Zach Adell; Design Manager: Viola Taffarel; Brand Designers: Melvin Asiedu, Victor Galvao, Margarida Chincho. (Global Marketing) Brand Manager: Diariatou Sarr; Brand Communications Manager: Brice Koue; Partnerships Manager: Mariama Sall; Product Marketing Manager: Ibrah Gabriel Mall. (Digital Marketing) Digital Manager: Check Coulibaly; Social Coordinators: Ahmed Tidiane Diouf, Amsatou Gueye, Anne Francoise Hyjazi, Malika Aka, Gedeon Dognin, Marabi Amfaal Hydara. (Local Marketing Ops) Marketing Managers: Maimouna Mbow, Oumar Coulibaly, Salif Doumbia, Brice Aubierge. Marketing Coordinators: Mathiew Brou, Dedilha Gbehe.
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Motion Design: George Weatherhead; Production Design: Hammed Okunade.
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(Dakar) Les Barbus: Creative Director: Tiana Ramiandrisoa; Advertising manager: Kapha Sakho, Conceptual Editor: Fabintou Ndaw; Art Director: Jérémie Bassène; Production Agency: TIMIS; Producer: Romain Lucchini; Production Director: Abdoulaye F. Kane; Director: Boubacar Woyo Traore; assistant director: Mohamed Bachir Sylla; chief camera operator: Mandione Laye Ka; Stylist: Alassane Ndiaye.