(Seychelles News Agency) - UAE Exchange, which has a branch in Seychelles, has changed its name to Unimoni in a ceremony held in Nairobi attended by regional Unimoni officials.

Unimoni is a company dealing with money transfer and exchange between African countries and also with the United Arab Emirates.

The executive director of Finablr and chief executive of the group, Promoth Manghat, said, “As a group, we have invested $100 million to support our growth and expansion efforts in Africa over the next decade.”

Unimoni is an abbreviation of Universal Money and the branch in Seychelles -- UAE Exchange -- began operations in 2011. It has three branches: two on the main island of Mahe and one on Praslin, the second-most populated island.

Through its leading brands such as Unimoni, UAE Exchange, Travelex and Xpress Money, the Finablr network spans 45 African markets.

Unimoni plans to be present in 14 African markets by 2020 as part of its growth strategy.

Allen Semboze, Regional Director for Africa, Unimoni, said, “The next few years will be very eventful for Unimoni, as we pursue our ambitious growth strategy.”

“We are in advanced discussion with various partners, including mobile network operators to develop new money transfer solutions. These services will be available in four of our seven markets in Africa in the second half of 2018,” he added.

The rebranding exercise follows an earlier announcement by the UAE-based businessman, Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty, founder and chairman of the UAE trading group. In April, Shetty launched "Finablr", a holding company that, subject to regulatory approvals, aims to consolidate its global portfolio of leading financial services brands under one roof, including Unimoni, UAE Exchange, Travelex and Xpress Money.