TechPression

Tag: Mobile Money Agents

  • West Africa embraces mobile money

    West Africa embraces mobile money

    East Africa has become where mobile money is used the most since MPesa’s quick rise to fame in Kenya created a new market for business and customer payments. Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda all had similar results.

    Additionally, Ethiopia is just starting to experience the benefits of mobile money.

    But some of the most promising mobile money markets on the continent are in West Africa, which joined the change late but is now setting the standards for it.

    Read also: US Ambassador hails Kenyan mobile money transfer platform M-Pesa

    No more latecomer

    Kenya was the poster child for mobile money, and the payment method remains a fundamental element of how Kenyans, residents, and visitors deal daily, but it is no longer the only illustration of how mobile money can revolutionize countries.

    Ghana had 4.26 billion mobile money transactions in 2021, up 48.6% from 2.85 billion in 2020. In contrast, Kenyan mobile money transactions rose 5% to 2.8 billion in 2022.

    Ghana has roughly 70% of Kenya’s GDP, which explains why this is crucial. Mobile money transactions accounted for 82% of Ghana’s 2021 GDP.

    This is comparable to Kenyan data from Global Voice Group, a Spanish data and compliance tech business, at 68% and the Boston Consulting Group at 87%. The World Bank says Ghana has the fastest-growing mobile money market, which is noteworthy.

    Kenya may see fewer mobile money transactions due to new government tax policies that may monitor wallets for tax purposes.

    However, MPesa, Kenya’s primary mobile money service, is losing its transaction value advantage in Africa’s mobile payment ecosystem. Smaller West African nations are the next growth frontier.

    Mobile money becomes trustworthy in Africa 

    Mobile money ecosystems are becoming trustworthy and essential financial services actors in Ghana and other West African countries.

    The GSM Association’s State of the Industry on Mobile Money Report 2023 shows that West Africa had 27% and 30% growth in registered and 30-day active mobile money accounts, while East Africa had 12% and 8%.

    The GSMA states that East Africa leads in transaction value and volume, but it has declined for two years. However, West African active accounts are rising faster than registered accounts every year.

    What’s driving this new booming market?

    Mobile money is expanding in West Africa for many reasons:

    Mobile money regulatory improvements have allowed telecoms and fintechs to enter.

    As mobile money becomes more popular and convenient, a flywheel effect recruits additional users.

    Government support for digital payments to boost revenue and economic formalization.

    In the 8 countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU, also known as UEMOA), fintechs are taking advantage of economic integration to increase mobile money use. For instance, Senegal’s Wave became the first non-bank, non-telecom operator in multiple WAEMU markets to receive an E-money (EME) license from BCEAO.

    West Africans are beginning to trust digital financial players as their primary transaction method, but the gap that continues to be closed is the most exciting part of mobile money’s rise.

    Adoption rates for the internet and smartphones are still going up quickly, but rates of financial inclusion are still low.

    P2P mobile payments companies, fintechs, and banks in more prominent countries, like Nigeria, are starting to put in more effort to reach the biggest possible market in the area. In other words, people will continue to want mobile digital payment ways for a while.

  • Moni, Nigerian fintech, offers business loans to African SMEs

    Moni, Nigerian fintech, offers business loans to African SMEs

    Moni, a Nigerian fintech firm, has launched a new line of business loans targeting African SMEs.

    The new loans are intended to help small businesses gain access to the working capital they require to operate and expand by harnessing the power of their communities.

    In Africa and other emerging markets, community groups and associations offer critical services and defend the collective.

    They allow for communal accountability and self-government.

    Moni is pioneering a community finance model that leverages this type of group responsibility in African communities to provide small business owners with access to critical financial services.

    According to the AfDB, SMEs account for over 90% of enterprises and approximately 80% of employment in Africa.

    Due to traditional banking institutions’ poor data and credit decisioning, a $421 billion loan gap has been established, prohibiting business owners from scaling.

    Read also: Sycamore, Nigerian fintech simplify loans, investments

    Moni’s financial data and risk engine

    Moni has created a danger processor that integrates financial data and company performance with social intelligence to assist African SMEs in making more successful financing decisions. Small company owners with a positive social reputation in Nigeria can get financing in less than five minutes after joining a lending cluster via an invitation from a current Moni user. After the loan has been disbursed, the cluster bears responsibility for the loan, and members have access to an automated savings pot to bail them out if necessary.

    In August 2021, 3,000 mobile money agents piloted the Y Combinator-backed startup’s community-powered loans (more than 5,000 were on the waiting list). In 2022, Moni loaned $22 million to over 11,000 SMEs with a 99 percent return record. The company is expanding its community-powered strategy to help more African SMEs that have been underserved by the traditional financial system.

    Moni CEO and co-founder Femi Iromini said, “Our community-powered business loans product is just one of the ways we are innovating around our unique context in Africa to make the most of what is already in place to deliver the financial services business owners need to create long-lasting wealth for themselves and their communities.” “Our method works, and we’re delighted to bring more businesses on board to boost the continent’s economic development.”

    Lulalend secures $35 million to serve SA business with loans

    About Moni

    Mobile money agents are financed by Moni using a community-driven paradigm based on social trust. They completed 99% of the repayment and increased their revenue 100% MoM.

    Moni is a platform that offers a variety of financial services for entrepreneurs and consumers, including working capital, savings, and insurance. It was founded in 2021 by Femi Iromini and Adedapo Sobayo, who had previously studied together and worked together on numerous initiatives.

  • Mobile Money Agents Association of Ghana Now Supports E-Levy

    Mobile Money Agents Association of Ghana Now Supports E-Levy

    The electronic transaction levy, or E-levy, has supported Ghana’s Mobile Money Agents Association (MMAG) members.

    In a meeting with His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Office of the President, Jubilee House, on May 10, 2022, the association’s General Secretary, Evans Otumfuor, told the government that the E-implementation levy would be supported by its members.

    “Your Excellency, let it be recorded that our organization believes in the payment of taxes as a major tool to promote the necessary development and advancement and would not do anything that undermines the success of the E-levy,” the General Secretary said.

    “Your Excellency, we recently heard about the government’s plan to introduce an electronic transaction levy. As an association, we have raised several concerns about this, but as we speak, yesterday we met with the Ministry of Finance, Ghana Revenue Authority, and other relevant stakeholders, and most of our concerns about the electronic transaction levy (E-Levy) have been addressed,” he said.

     

    Read Also : PURA Inspects Telecoms Infrastructure in the Gambia

     

    He also underlined that, as an organisation, it is critical that “dramatic steps are implemented at drastic moments when necessary.” Evans Otumfuor stated that the levy is now law and that all citizens must comply. So we’re here as allies, not adversaries.
    He expressed gratitude to the government for taking such a bold step in generating cash for the country’s growth.

    “The government has made bold efforts to cut the electronic transaction fee from 1.75 per cent to 1.5 per cent, and the charge includes a long list of exemptions.” We had hoped for a more significant reduction out of worry about the consequences for our operations.

    He also asked President Akufo-Addo to deal with some of the problems that the E-levy had brought up.

     

    Mobile Money Agents Association of Ghana Further Demands From The Government


    Your Excellency, we ask you and the Minister of Finance to act quickly to fix the problems that the levy has caused for us as agents. For example, the levy has made it hard for us to move money from our agent’s accounts to our bank accounts to make withdrawals and do other business-related things.

    The General Secretary also talked about how little Ghanaians know about the E-levy and said that the group is willing to help teach Ghanaians about the levy.

    “We have identified, Your Excellency, the feedback and signals gathered following the implementation of the E-levy, which has demonstrated that communication about the E-levy has been severely limited.” Your Excellency, it is in the association’s best interests to help push education and necessary sensitisation. We are prepared to take on any obligation the government is willing to assign to the association to ensure our businesses are adequately protected. Second, we will urge consumers to strengthen their trust in the Mobile Money platform. “


    He also talked about the organisation’s problems, such as financial fraud, armed robberies, high operating costs, and trouble getting money.


    The group also asked the President to put its members on boards and institutions whose policies and programmes directly or indirectly affect their businesses.


    In conclusion, the General Secretary said, “The association is proud of you for these great initiatives, and MMAG is ready to work with the government to make more of these kinds of policies because the Mobile Money business is one area where the government can invest in creating more jobs for young people.”

     

    The Government Promises

    President Akufo-Addo, for his part, praised the group for pledging to work with the government to ensure the success of the E-levy.

    “I am also very encouraged and appreciative of this collaboration offer to ensure that this contentious tax is successfully managed,” the President remarked.
    He also expressed satisfaction that stakeholders in business share their issues as and when they arise.


    “I believe it is appropriate that stakeholders like you voice your concerns as you did and that these concerns are taken into account by the government so that when the law is finally shaped as it has been, it is meaningful for the state and equally meaningful for the private sector operatives who are in this area,” the President emphasised.


    The conference was also attended by Ursula Owusu Ekuful, Minister of Communications; executive members of the Mobile Money Agents Association of Ghana (MMAG); and other high officials from the Communications Ministry and the Presidency.