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July 26, 2019
On the web
Africell to Spend $100 Mln on Mobile Infrastructure, Fintech in Africa
Reuters
“African telecom firm Africell plans to spend part of a $100 million U.S. credit line on expanding its infrastructure and fintech services, its chief executive said on Friday. The 18-year-old company, which has 15 million subscribers across its four African operations, secured the loan in May from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. government’s private investment fund. Africell founder and chief executive Ziad Dalloul told Reuters the money would help fund infrastructure investments for its operations in Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia and Sierra Leone. He also said it would help the firm expand fintech services, such as mobile payments, micro-insurance and micro-finance.”
April 2, 2019
On the web
Mastercard to Join Investors in Online Retailer Jumia : The Standard
The Standard
“Jumia Technologies AG said Mastercard Inc has agreed to invest Sh5.6 billion (50 million euros or $56 million) in a private placement ahead of the Africa-focused online retailer’s planned initial public offering in New York.The US credit-card giant joins shareholders such as French drinks maker, Pernod Ricard SA, which bought a 5.1 per cent stake for 75 million euros in December, and largest investors MTN Group Ltd and Rocket Internet SE.”
December 3, 2018
On the web
The Importance of Interoperability – The Evolution of Payments
Payments Afrika
“In Sub-Saharan Africa both ATM and card infrastructure and penetration is still extremely low. According to the World Bank there are less than 6 ATMs per 100 000 adults across Sub-Saharan Africa, and cash is still the dominant form of payment across the continent. In order to address this gap, mobile money has emerged as a key system for both banking and payments across Africa.”
November 26, 2018
On the web
Orange And MTN Partner For Mobile Money Platform Mowali
Alertify
“Two of Africa’s largest mobile operators and mobile money providers, Orange Group and MTN Group, today announced a joint venture, Mowali (mobile wallet interoperability), to enable interoperable payments across the continent. Mowali makes it possible to send money between mobile money accounts issued by any mobile money provider, in real time and at low cost.”
September 20, 2018
On the web
Orange invests in SA fintech provider
Africa Law & Business
“The African investment arm of French telecommunications giant Orange has announced financing for South African fintech company Yoco. Launched in 2015, the company provides mobile credit card payment facilities to small businesses and is seeking to expand across sub-Saharan Africa, funding for which has come through a round of finance driven by investment fund Partech, with involvement from Dutch bank FMO, fintech investor Quona Capital and private equity firm Velocity Capital.”
September 18, 2018
On the web
Africa’s Jumo raises $52M led by Goldman to bring its fintech services to Asia
TechCrunch
“Asia’s fintech scene is poised to get a little larger after Jumo, a company that offers loans to the unbanked in Africa, revealed plans to expand into the continent. To get the ball rolling, Jumo has opened an office in Singapore to lead the way and landed a massive $52 million investment led by banking giant Goldman Sachs to fuel the growth.”
August 14, 2018
Top Post
China’s payments giant is ready to boost financial inclusion in Africa
Quartz
“In a partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) along with the International Financial Corporation, the firm says it will promote digital financial inclusion in the continent through investments and technical assistance. The offering will target smaller businesses and would look to cater to largely unserved consumers, including displaced people and refugees with no official documents or identity papers.”
July 24, 2018
On the web
Mobile Money Interoperability Is The Next Revolution In Africa, This Is What You Need To Know
CNBC
“Several regions across Africa are zeroing in on what promises to be a new frontier in the fast-growing digital economy: mobile money interoperability. That means anyone in an interoperable region with a mobile money account can transact with anyone else who has an account, whether they use the same service provider or not. And when that happens, mobile money instantly becomes more useful to more people, enabling them to more easily save, borrow, and transact with all the people and institutions they need to connect with, instead of just those on their same network. When connected with banks, mobile money becomes even more valuable as people have a safe, secure place to store their assets.”
July 18, 2018
On the web
Africa’s Dominant Mobile Money Service Is In Talks To Open In Ethiopia
Quartz
“The telecom company is reportedly in advanced talks with Ethiopian officials to introduce its popular mobile money service M-Pesa in the country, according to Reuters. The state telecommunications monopoly Ethio Telecom will carry the service, while Safaricom will host the servers back in Nairobi. If this goes ahead, the deal will present Safaricom with a lucrative opportunity to grow revenue and deposits in a market more than twice the size of its home country, with over 100 million Ethiopians. The service’s introduction could also have a notable impact on Ethiopians, who could use it to not only send and receive money but also borrow, save, and pay for services.”
July 12, 2018
On the web
Crossfin In Partnership With Apis For Payments Acceptance In Southern Africa
Payments Afrika
“The pursuit of greater electronic payment adoption among South African merchants received a significant boost with the announcement of a partnership between leading African fintech holding company Crossfin Technology Holdings and global fund manager Apis Partners LLP. According to Anton Gaylard, COO of Crossfin, the partnership with Apis will create an enlarged payments operating company aimed at transforming the Southern African payments acceptance market, driving financial inclusion to SMMEs and informal merchants alike.”
July 11, 2018
On the web
TerraPay Helps Brings Remittance Services To Several African Countries
Mobile Payments Today
“GIMAC, the regional electronic money transfer platform of Central Africa, and TerraPay have signed a strategic partnership agreement that will strengthen the remittances ecosystem in CEMAC region, according to a press release. The partnership will enable instant cross border money transfer to bank accounts and mobile wallets in the CEMAC zone, comprising of Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic and Chad.”
June 28, 2018
On the web
WhatsApp Is Getting Set To Be Africa’s Biggest Payments And Ad Platform
Quartz
“WhatsApp’s competitive advantage is in emerging markets, where its service almost always works, regardless of internet speed or available bandwidth. It’s the world’s No.1 messaging service, thanks to users from Latin America to Africa and most of Asia outside China. In these regions, there’s intense interest from local businesses that want to see WhatsApp commercialize—they want to be able to use the platform more efficiently to transact with their customers who pretty much live on WhatsApp.”
May 30, 2018
On the web
IFC, Mastercard Foundation Extend Financial Inclusion for Millions in Africa
Payments Afrika
“There is an emerging body of evidence on the impact that digital financial inclusion can have on inclusive economic growth and development. A study in the report shows that smallholder cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire who saved regularly were better able to feed their families than those who did not save, irrespective of the farmers’ annual income. The same study also revealed that many smallholder cocoa farmers felt ‘socially excluded’ by traditional banks but were generally accepting of agent banking and digital services.”
April 16, 2018
On the web
The reach of West Africa’s mobile money sector is 13 times wider than local banks
Quartz
“As the West Africa mobile economy report by GSMA shows, mobile adoption in West Africa has nearly doubled from 28% at the turn of the decade to 47% last year. Indeed, by the end of 2017, there were 176 million unique subscribers across the region’s 15 member states. Just as importantly, by the end of last year, the number of mobile internet subscribers has doubled over the last four years to reach 78 million—nearly half of the total number of mobile subscribers.”
April 12, 2018
On the wires
The reach of West Africa’s mobile money sector is 13 times wider than local banks
Quartz
“That rapid growth has been a boon for financial inclusion, mainly through mobile money. Thanks to expanding agent networks and more enabling regulations, there are now 13 times more active mobile money agents in West Africa than the total number of bank branches and ATMs, the report notes. Paga, a leading mobile money service in Nigeria, boasts a network of nearly 15,000 agents.”
April 3, 2018
On the web
Mobile money is the key to growing Africa’s banking sector
Quartz
“Africa is a global leader in mobile money, with telecom operators embracing innovative practices that allow customers to not only pay bills but also access services including loans, insurance, and savings. Yet increasingly, fintech startups with access to greater funding and banks are trying to permeate the mobile financial services (MFS) sector and pull some of these customers their way.”
March 30, 2018
On the web
Zimbabwe: Ecocash Steers Zimbabwe Closer to Total Financial Inclusion
AllAfrica
“Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe has re-activated ‘Swipe Into EcoCash’, a feature that allows Ecocash customers who bank with StanChart reactivates ‘Swipe into EcoCash’ The emergency of mobile money platforms headlined by EcoCash, OneMoney and Telecash- in order of market share has turned tables on banks as the mobile network operators took centre stage in driving financial inclusion in the country.”
March 26, 2018
On the web
BitPesa plotting continued African expansion
Disrupt Africak
“Disrupt Africa reported last week BitPesa, a digital foreign exchange and payments platform that leverages blockchain settlement to lower the cost and increase the speed of business payments to and from frontier markets, had launched a suite of services in Ghana. Launched in Nairobi in 2013, the startup already has African offices in Lagos and Dakar, as well as European bases in London, Luxembourg and Madrid, with chief executive officer (CEO) Elizabeth Rossiello telling Disrupt Africa the company had plans to be very pan-African.”
March 1, 2018
On the web
Mastercard to use Messenger to help SMEs leverage digital payments in Africa, Asia
Bizcommunity
“Mastercard will use Facebook Messenger to provide technology to small businesses in Africa and Asia to drive affordable acceptance of electronic and mobile payments. Access to digital payments will help these businesses expand to new markets, and unlock financial services and products that enable them to grow their livelihoods.”
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