Ecobank Tanzania unveils two digital payment systems

Dar es Salaam. Ecobank Tanzania has unveiled two digital payment solutions on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 aimed at easing retail payment.

Ecobank Tanzania Managing Director Mwanaiba Mzee addresses the media in Dar es Salaam after the launch of Masterpass and M-Visa for easier retail payment. She is flanked by the bank’s head of commercial Banking Respige Kimati (right) and head of personal banking Ndabu Lilian Swere

Using the platforms known as Masterpass and M-Visa which are available in the Ecobank Mobile Application, the bank says it will help to promote financial inclusion among Tanzanians.Speaking to journalists today,Ecobank's managing director Ms Mwanahiba Mzee said the new banking services will guarantee safety and easy financial transactions.

"This service can be used by any person be it a customer or non-customer, all one needs is a smartphone with Ecobank's application," she said.While demonstrating how the new services operate, Ecobank's manager for electronic channels Mr Filemon Tesha said the importance of using these new services include getting money faster and also increasing sales to all merchants.

He also said the digital services charge 0.5 per cent at the points of sales (POS) while the normal charges for money transactions range from 3 per cent to 5 per cent of the transaction made.He also said these services allow easy access for a person to follow up on their accounts as one can monitor the money transactions easily and it doesn't need physical contact with banks.The head of personal and domestic banking Ms Ndabu Swere added saying Ecobank's aim is to strengthen services and simplify transactions to its customers

Source: Citizentz

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CONVENIENTLY TRANSFER YOUR FUNDS THROUGH NMB MOBILE

The National Microfinance Bank PLC (NMB) has today launched the first ever money transfer service that will see customers registered with NMB mobile transfer money from their NMB account to other banks at the comfort of their finger prints.

To transfer up to TZS 3,000,000/- customers will need not walk into the banking halls any more; rather they can transfer through NMB mobile anywhere and provide the convenience that a customer needs.

Launching the money transfer service into the market, the NMB’s Value Added Service Manager, Stephen Adili, said the mobile Interbank Settlement System adds more options to NMB customers while maintaining the convenience and comfort of customers.

Previously, customers could transfer money from their NMB accounts to other banks by either physically visiting branches or through internet banking. In both cases the process took up to two hours for the transaction to mature.

 “The new mobile system of transaction is timely as recipient gets money instantly.” said Stephen Adili the NMB Acting Senior Manager Retail Liability, Insurance and Value Added Services.
Mr Adili added that “Being the first bank in the market, we expect a positive reaction from our customers who will no longer incur some transport and time expenses on transferring money from their NMB accounts to other banks accounts.”

Source: NMB

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Mastercard Launches Mobile Marketplace to Digitize East Africa’s Agricultural Sector

2KUZE gives farmers access to more buyers, enables them to run a more profitable business and paves the way to a cashless agricultural sector

Mastercard today launched 2KUZE, a digital platform that connects smallholder farmers, agents, buyers and banks in East Africa. 2KUZE, which in Swahili means “Let’s grow together,” enables farmers to buy, sell and receive payments for agricultural goods via their feature phones. The platform brings the benefits and security of mobile commerce and payments to farmers in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

2KUZE was developed at the Mastercard Lab for Financial Inclusion in Nairobi, which was set up in 2015 to develop practical and cost-effective financial tools that expand access and help build stable futures for more than 100 million people globally. Through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Lab is working with East African entrepreneurs, governments and other stakeholders to develop local products rooted in the company’s global knowhow.

In the initial pilot, 2KUZE is being launched in partnership with Cafédirect Producers Foundation, a non-profit organization working with 300,000 smallholder farmers globally. Currently, 2,000 small-scale farmers in Nandi Hills, Kenya are using the solution to sell their produce and working with farmer-friendly agents to ensure they reach the right buyers for the best price.

“Eighty percent of farmers in Africa are classified as smallholder farmers having less than 1-2 acres of farming land, making it extremely difficult to drive growth and prosperity within this community, ” said Daniel Monehin, division president for Sub-Saharan Africa and head of financial inclusion for International Markets at Mastercard.

“We believe that by using mobile, a technology that is so ubiquitous among farmers in Africa, we can improve financial access, bring in operational efficiency and facilitate faster payments. The collaboration between the Lab team and farmers in the market helped to deliver a solution that can be implemented and make an impact without any major changes to the day-to-day.”

2KUZE makes transacting much safer and simpler for all stakeholders in the agricultural supply chain – the farmer, the buyer and the agent. Farmers using 2KUZE can conduct the entire transaction of selling produce and receiving payments via their feature phones, without having to walk for hours to the markets. The platform enables farmers to capture a greater percentage of the wholesale value of their goods by providing price transparency, more direct access to buyers and empowerment of farmer-friendly agents.

Source: Mastercard

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Mobile Number Portability (MNP)

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Daily Energy Payments Powering Digital Finance in Ghana

Much has been written about the potential of pay-as-you-go solar to advance financial inclusion while expanding access to energy among the poor. One of the biggest challenges in promoting digital payments is that often there is not a strong value proposition for customers; people don’t want to switch from cash payments unless there is a good reason. The excitement around pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) solar is that by linking digital payments to useful everyday products or services, like reliable energy, customers have more attractive reasons to adopt and use digital payments. But does the data show this actually happening? New CGAP research in Ghana, carried out in partnership with PEG Africa and Tigo Cash, indicates yes.

To date, there has been isolated evidence that solar payments could drive mobile money use. Fenix International reported that at least 13 percent of their customers registered for mobile money in order to purchase a ReadyPay product, while in Rwanda, Mobisol estimated that 20 percent of their users were newly registered to mobile money services. But there has also been a long-held hypothesis in the industry that PAYGo customers are better active mobile money customers — that by making mobile bill payments on a regular basis, they become more comfortable and active users of additional mobile financial services. Increased usage means higher revenue per active user, making digital finance a more sustainable model for reaching the poor.

Testing this assumption required the right partners. Tigo Ghana is one of the leading DFS providers in Ghana. Its mobile wallet offering, Tigo Cash, has over 3.5 million registered subscribers. Converting them into active users remains an issue, as it does throughout the industry. PEG Africa is a financier of life-changing assets and a leading pay-as-you-go solar company in West Africa. PEG has installed over 20,000 solar home systems, bringing reliable lighting to over 100,000 people in a country where half the population lives off the grid and the other half suffers from unreliable electricity service. And as a business that relies on digital payments, PEG has been actively working with mobile money operators like Tigo Ghana to innovate in the mobile money arena.

CGAP worked with both organizations to compare active Tigo Cash users who are PEG customers with a sample of active Tigo Cash users who are not. The goal was to measure the average revenue per user (or ARPU) generated for Tigo within each sample, giving us a better idea of whether pay-as-you-go solar was really driving uptake of digital payments.

The difference in average revenue per customer was illuminating: PEG customers generated 122 percent more revenue per active user for Tigo Cash than did non-PEG customers in the sample. A significant piece of the added revenue comes from bill payments, which in Ghana are still relatively rare. The last Financial Inclusion Insights Survey, done in partnership with CGAP, revealed that only 5 percent of active mobile money users had made a bill payment, compared with 12 percent in Uganda and 20 percent in Kenya. But within the group of active mobile money PEG customers in Ghana, 34 percent had made a mobile bill payment: much higher than average.

In addition to bill payments, average PEG users had a more varied use history. They checked their balances more frequently, cashed in and out more frequently, and made over three times as many person-to-person transfers per user. All told, 54 percent of active PEG users had made a bill payment or P2P transfer within the study period, against only 18 percent of non-PEG customers.

There are important caveats to these statistics. Only 16 percent of PEG users in the sample were active, compared to 40 percent of Tigo Cash users. CGAP has worked with PEG to develop easier ways for customers to pay digitally, which will hopefully lead to increased active use. And it is certainly possible that outside factors, such as age and income, played a role in creating the ARPU difference, although controlling for those was not possible given the data available.

More research is needed, but it is clear that when PAYGo solar customers use mobile money, they use it a lot. According to Carl Pomeyie, the acting head of Mobile Financial Services at Tigo Cash: “The results reiterate the need to build an ecosystem that allows Tigo Cash customers to pay for services beyond just withdrawals from their wallets. As we [at Tigo Cash] look to build a digital ecosystem throughout Ghana, providers like PEG who provide essential services will be invaluable in stimulating demand and providing a value proposition to the rural customer.”

So what can other operators learn from this example? When building out mobile money infrastructure, it is essential to think about the value for the customer and to partner with someone who offers that “hook.” PEG has become one of the largest bill-pay recipients in Ghana, despite being a relatively new company. In Uganda, Fenix International and MTN are working together to distribute co-branded PAYGo solar units, offering ReadyPay as a dedicated USSD menu option for mobile payments. In Kenya, M-KOPA products are sold out of SafariCom shops, and both organizations recently signed an agreement to facilitate advanced knowledge exchange. Partnerships like these offer tangible value that can only be acquired digitally, giving customers users a reason to not only register for mobile money, but to actively use it.

On a broader level, partnerships between digital finance platforms and more traditional service providers could produce considerable synergies. In 2009, SafariCom and Kenya Power partnered to shift electricity bill payments to mobile channels. Kenya Power is now one of the largest bill-pay recipients on M-Pesa by value. In Cote d’Ivoire, shifting school registration payments to mobile channels helped to develop the digital finance infrastructure. These partnerships do not need to happen on a bilateral basis. Opening up payment and data APIs to external developers could produce a slew of new use cases, each of which may bring more active subscribers onto the payment rails. New and improved service models that leverage digital finance may not be beneficiaries of digital ecosystems, but the cornerstone on which they are built.

Source: Innovation in Africa

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Impact of mobile money interoperability in Tanzania

Tanzania is one of the most developed mobile money markets in the world, representing almost a third of all of East Africa’s active mobile money accounts in 2015. [1] It is also one of the most progressive, with ambitious initiatives regularly leading to new product innovation. Today, we are releasing a publication looking at the impact of one form of innovation coming out of Tanzania: the impact of account-to-account mobile money interoperability.

With Tigo, Airtel and Zantel having connected their services in 2014 and Vodacom integrating in 2016, account-to-account interoperability is still in early days in Tanzania. As such, this publication focuses on preliminary quantitative metrics alongside perspectives and reflections written by the service providers. The basic quantitative data offers a glimpse of initial customer behaviours and allows us to benchmark growth against a comparative use case, the off-net voucher. The latter half of the publication focuses entirely on the perspectives of the providers. These perspectives are critical because the experience of these players will inform both how Tanzania develops and how other practitioners evaluate the opportunity of interoperability in their own markets.

Between the data and the providers, Tanzania has provided more evidence to help all industry stakeholders develop more realistic expectations of and a better understanding for account-to-account interoperability.  For example:

• Basic market prerequisites in Tanzania provided the right dynamic for early growth. Growth in Tanzania is promising, particularly given providers have taken a “wait and see” approach in the early days. For Airtel and Tigo, cross-net transactions now exceed off-net vouchers, and both cite double-digit monthly percentage growth. To capture this early organic growth, providers benefitted from (1) an enabling regulatory environment that encourages innovation, (2) strong operational foundations across all providers and (3) a commitment to the user experience, including honouring a consistent price for all P2P transfers – whether on-net or cross-net. Markets lacking these basic prerequisites may risk a harder road before reaping the benefits that interoperability can enable.

• Interoperability between providers can also be a catalyst for further investment in industry collaboration. There is a healthy diversity of perspectives and expectations from providers around the implementation and impact of domestic interoperability. However, what is clear is that the launch of this singular form of interoperability is part of, and in some cases reinforced by, an on-going strategy to capture the benefits of broader industry collaboration. Millicom, Vodacom and Airtel all explicitly expressed an interest to build on their experience and potentially extend interoperability to new use cases, such as merchant payments.

• The impact of interoperability is best measured over the long-term. Mobile money interoperability has further to go in Tanzania before it is close to the transaction volume processed through bank integrations or on-net P2P transfers. To accelerate that growth, the industry continues to explore how improvements to the technological and financial infrastructure could make mobile money interoperability more efficient. New investment in customer campaigns are also underway, and these investments will help evaluate the long-term growth ceiling and the extent of mass-market need for the functionality.
• Source: gsma

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Orange launches Orange Money between France and Africa

Orange Money is available in Metropolitan France. This service is offered to Orange mobile subscribers  in France and enables them to transfer money via their mobile to other Orange Money customers in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, and within Metropolitan France.

“We are delighted to offer the Orange Money solution to our customers living in Metropolitan France and particularly to those with a link to Africa – this is a simple, secure and instant money transfer service between family and friends via mobile,” states Patrick Roussel, Orange France Consumer Sales Director.

By launching the service in France, Orange is responding to strong demand from its customers with family or friends in Africa.
Orange Money provides a money transfer service from France to Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal through a simple mobile transaction. Orange also makes it easier for recipients to withdraw money from over 30,000 Orange Money points in the three recipient countries, an unrivalled number of points of sale in these countries.
This service will develop gradually and Orange intends to number of points of sale in France. An Orange Money app will be available soon in France and Orange will look to expand the money transfer offer from France to other countries over time.
For the launch of Orange Money in France, Orange is supported by its subsidiary W-HA, which has an EMI agreement  and is authorised to issue and manage electronic money. The technical and banking expertise of W-HA allows Orange to offer international money transfer services with an excellent standard of customer experience and user security

You don’t need a bank account to use Orange Money. You just need a mobile plan and to register at a point of sale offering Orange Money with an ID card and proof of address.  It is free to open an Orange Money account.
Amongst the stores offering the secure Orange Money service in Metropolitan France, Orange already has 41 points of sale: newsagents, call shops, local grocery stores and tobacconists across the country, as well as an Orange Money store in Paris.
To carry out a money transfer, the customer credits their account with a bank card or cash at a point of sale. They then log onto their Orange Money account directly from their mobile by ringing #144#, entering the mobile number of the recipient as well as the amount to transfer and confirming the transaction with their Orange Money password. The transfer is then completed and the money is immediately available in the recipient’s  account.
#144# is a free and simple service which is compatible with all mobiles on the market.

Orange Money is a mobile account linked to an Orange telephone number, and it is designed to meet the needs of customers in Africa, where most transactions are made in cash. Orange Money service, launched in Côte d’Ivoire in 2008, has over 18 million customers already use it in 14 countries in Africa to carry out transactions such as payments and money transfers.

In 2013 Orange launched the first international money transfer service for its Orange Money customers between Senegal, Mali and Côte d’Ivoire. In March 2015, this service was expanded to transfers to and from Airtel Money customers in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.

Source: techmoran

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Tanzania: Vodacom M-Pawa Loans Reach 4.2 Billion/ - in May

Over 4.2bn/- in loans was disbursed to Vodacom subscribers last month through M-Pawa thus becoming an important tool of boosting entrepreneurship among women and youth.

Vodacom Tanzania Chief Officer M-Commerce Mr Sitoyo Lopokoiyit said M-Pawa was increasingly being heralded as the tool for bringing financial services to the large unbanked population in Tanzania.

"In just two years since its launch, M-Pawa subscribers have skyrocketed to 4.8 million. Todate, 39bn/- have been issued to subscribers through M-Power and most of them are entrepreneurs mostly women and youth to increase income," he said.

Prior to introduction of various mobile financial solutions, the unbanked population relied on cash or informal financial services which were typically unsafe, inconvenient and denied them the opportunity to access loans.

The high penetration of mobile phones in Tanzania provided the basis for extending access to financial services such as payments, transfers, insurance, savings, and credit.

Thus Vodacom Tanzania in partnership with CBA bank introduced M-Pawa -- the first- ever mobile savings and loan service in Tanzania - a service that has proven to be a saviour to millions of its subscribers.

The introduction of Vodacom's M-Pawa was made possible in partnership with the Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), following studies showing that there are millions of Tanzanians especially in rural areas who do not have bank accounts mostly due to the absence of banking institutions or lack of the requisite monies to open up a bank account.

Source:All africa

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Tigo Platinum sponsor of the GSMA Mobile 360 Series Conference – Tanzania

Millicom Group trading under the Tigo brand is the official platinum sponsor of the 2016 Mobile 360 Series- Africa conference, which will take place on 26-28 July at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre. The conference, the first of its kind in the country, is fully endorsed by the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) and the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA). 

 “By sponsoring one of the most powerful trade associations in the telecommunications industry in the world, Tigo underscores its commitment in promoting digital lifestyle transformation and its leadership in delivering cutting-edge technology and innovation-factors that are critical to the growth of the telecom industry in Africa”, said Tigo Tanzania General Manager, Diego Guttierrez who will be among the key speakers at the summit.

 The event will comprise thought-provoking keynote addresses, fireside chats, and panel discussions. With the overall event theme of “Accelerating Access for All to Create a Digitally Inclusive Society”, each session will tackle a different aspect of the empowerment story, such as ‘Developing Ecosystems for Future Digital Services’, ‘Creating Opportunities for Local Content’ and much more. The full conference agenda is available at www.mobile360series.com/africa/#agenda/.

At Mobile 360 – Africa, CEOs and senior executives from leading mobile companies and from players across the digital ecosystem will address the most pressing trends and issues in mobile. Speakers confirmed to present at Mobile 360 – Africa include:

• Razvan Ungureanu, Chief Technical Officer, Airtel Africa
• Dr. Omobola Johnson, Chairperson, Alliance for Affordable Internet
• Bradley Shaw, Founder, Continuum Consulting
• Shiletsi Makhofane, Head of Government and Industry Relations, Ericsson Sub-Saharan Africa
• Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA
• Qiu Heng, President of Wireless Marketing Operations, Wireless Network Product Line, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
• Alice Munyua, Board of Trustees, Internet Society (ISOC)
• Kwame Baah-Acheamfuor, Chairman, ITU-T Study Group 12
• Ari Zlotoff, Director of Expansion, Off-Grid Electric
• Christopher Richardson, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, ONEm
• Arnauld Blondet, Head of Innovation, Africa and Middle East, Orange Group
• Diego Gutierrez, General Manager, MIC Tanzania (Tigo)
• Ian Ferrao, CEO, Vodacom Tanzania 

In addition to the main conference, Mobile 360 – Africa will highlight the initiatives and activities undertaken by the GSMA Mobile for Development programme. The event will focus on the GSMA’s work to increase access to and use of life-enhancing mobile services; acceleration of socio-economic improvements for the underserved, especially women, rural and youth; and particularly digital and financial inclusion and identity for the unregistered.

GSMA Jumpstart

Back for a second year is the GSMA’s Jumpstart programme, which invites start-ups to showcase their mobile innovations in the region. This start-up pitch platform will feature six to eight exciting, early-stage entrepreneurs, with each giving a five-minute pitch to a panel of operators, investors, and to the audience, followed by questions. The pitch session will be followed by an informal networking reception for participants and the audience.

Mobile 360 – Africa Registration Now OpenRegistration for Mobile 360 – Africa is now open; individuals wishing to attend should visitwww.mobile360series.com/africa/#register.

Get Involved at Mobile 360 – Africa
The 2016 GSMA Mobile 360 Series – Africa is the third in a series of seven industry-focused events held in major cities across the world. For information on Mobile 360 – Africa, including sponsorship opportunities, please visitwww.mobile360series.com/africa. Follow developments and updates on Mobile 360 – Africa (#m360Africa) on Twitter @GSMA, on Facebook www.facebook.com/Mobile360Series and LinkedIn on www.linkedin.com/company/gsma-mobile-360-series.

Source:Tigo

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Tap and Go cards both mobile and fixed at every park and major stops

As Rwanda evolves into the technology hub for the region and continent, the component of a smart city is very crucial and from it, builds other major urban development programs focused on Rwanda's growth - and its challenges and opportunities.

AC Group launched the Tap&Go project with Kigali Bus Services and Royal Express and has since made some routes totally cashless with the blessing of the Government.

The primary reason for starting with automated fare collection where clients use cards is because operations were losing a huge percentage of their bus fare revenue to fraud hence hindering their ability to provide proper service to commuters.

With their revenues being collected in a transparent and efficient way, commuters have been able to enjoy public transport with fewer delays on the bus stops, quicker boarding on the buses and proper real time monitoring of the bus by authorities and the bus operators.

 Commuters that come to Kigali for the first time do have access to a well spread network of points of sale of the Tap&Go cards both mobile and fixed at every park and major stops. These stations not only supply the clients with card but also educate them on how to use it.

The card can be topped up with what a commuter feels they want to use and can also be shared with a family member or friend.

The Tap&Go project is the first milestone towards building an intelligent transport system that is a key component of the Smart Rwanda Manifesto. Rwanda's rapid shift to virtual money will strike because of a number of coordinated programs in different sectors and transport is one of them

Source: mobilemoneyafrica

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Tanzania in mobile money ‘first’ for Africa

Vodacom joined Tigo, Airtel and Zantel in a pioneering interoperability scheme for mobile money in Tanzania.

In 2014, Tigo, Airtel and Zantel agreed to enable their customers to send and receive money across their networks. After announcing it would join last year, Vodacom has now implemented the scheme.

Tanzania becomes Africa’s first country with full interoperability for P2P money transfers, according to a statement issued by three of the operators.

Interoperability means more traffic and hence revenue, at least that’s the argument of Tigo, Airtel and Zantel, which have seen off-network transactions grow 3.5 times since 2014.

Tanzania, like neighbouring Kenya, is a case study for mobile money with high usage levels. There are more than 16 million mobile financial users in Tanzania.

Source:mobileworldlive

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Ghana becomes a force in mobile money

Some 17 percent of Ghana's 27.3 million citizens now have a mobile money account, according to a new report from the World Bank. That figure is double from 2014, according to the report.

The report concluded that Ghana is fertile ground for more mobile money account openings as 92 percent of adults have the required ID necessary to open an account and 91 percent of Ghanaians already own a mobile phone.

The World Bank said Ghana has greater potential for mobile money than Kenya and Tanzania, which are considered two of the most successful markets in the world.

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MoneyGram, Vodacom partner on mobile money service in Tanzania

MoneyGram and Vodacom have announced a partnership that enables Vodacom subscribers in Tanzania to receive fund transfers directly into their M-Pesa accounts through MoneyGram's money transfer services.

M-Pesa subscribers in Tanzania can receive funds from MoneyGram into their mobile accounts from customers in more than 120 countries at any time, subject to system availability, according to a press release.

"MoneyGram continues to grow throughout Africa as a result of forming strategic relationships with mobile network operators, banks, post offices and retailers, to bring added convenience to our customers," Jacques Voogt, chief officer of mobile commerce at Vodacom Tanzania, said in a statement. "Presently, MoneyGram operates in more than 200 countries with a network of more than 350,000 locations globally of which 25,000 are in Africa."

Source:mobilepaymentstoday

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Equity Bank has finally launched the thin SIM that provides a mobile payment, mobile banking and telecom services to its customers

Equity Bank Group has finally launched its thin SIM card to offer voice, SMS, data and mobile-to-bank money transfer services

Transfer of money within Equity Bank will be free and will only attract a fee while transferring from Equity Bank account to other banks.

Equity Group CEO James Mwangi says voice communications will Sh4 across all networks and one shilling for SMS, while mobile money transfer services will be free.

“The free money transfer services is like Internet banking services. What we are saying is why should the low income people be paying while the rich don’t pay so that when you transfer money from your account to your mothers account there will be no charge,” Mwangi said during the launch on Monday.

“With Equitel you will be able to send money to any telecom, bank account or mobile phone in the country,” Mwangi added.

Equitel is operating under Equity bank’s subsidiary Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) with infrastructure support provided by Airtel.

A new thin SIM card will go for Sh600 for new customers with no accounts at Equity Bank and who may be required to open accounts with the bank to enjoy the banking services. However the other normal cards will be given for free.

The thin SIM will start with the prefix of 0764 after the bank hit one million users under the 0763 prefix during the pilot project which was on the normal SIM cards.

READ: Government backs thin SIM technology

In partnership with switches in the market which include Kenswitch, Paynet and Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) customers can instantly send up to Sh1 million to all banks for Sh200 all days of the week.

“With the use of the switches that exist in the country, you can now transfer money from one bank to another even on a Sunday. Transfers of money have always been restricted to during the morning hours when clearing house is open. But now we have bypassed clearing because of this interconnection,” Mwangi explained.

The launch of the thin SIM comes after a long struggle which went up to the courts after complaints that use of the cards in the market was not safe.

Safaricom had raise concerns that the use of the thin SIM by placing it on top of customers’ existing SIM cards would interfere with privacy.

However Equity Bank won the battle after being cleared by the High Court in May this year.

Source:capitalfm

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Mobile phones push up Mwalimu Bank IPO

MWALIMU Commercial Bank initial public offer (IPO) oversubscription is looming largely as upcountry buyers have outpaced Dar es Salaam residents in buying shares, thanks to mobile phone transaction platforms.

The previous IPOs trend was dominated by Dar es Salaam buyers as most could reach stock brokers, banks and other financial institutions to access information easily because all have officers in the country’s business capital.

However, the technology has changed the trend thus allowing rural residents to access brokers through their mobile phones and complete share buying procedures at finger tips.

Core Securities Chief Executive Officer, Mr George Fumbuka, told ‘Daily News’ on Tuesday for the first time upcountry’s buyers are dominating the IPO unlike the previous ones where Dar es Salaam topped the list.

“Mobile phones have made wondersÉ a lot of people are now buying shares from upcountry for the first time,” Mr Fumbuka said.

This is the first time in history shares are sold via mobile phones in Africa. The CEO added: “The response is very positive, and we are expecting the IPO to be oversubscribed by big margin as institution investors have yet to throw their weight.”

Mr Fumbuka, whose firm is a sponsoring broker, said that institutions, investors -- insurers, pensions, banks and corporate -- are normal, buying at the dying minutes of the IPO that is expected to end in the next two weeks -- on May 4.

“It’s too early to give out (IPO buying) figures as we need to compile the entire buying process from various stakeholders -- brokers, banks. But the progress is very encouraging,” Mr Fumbuka said.

Zan Securities CEO Raphael Masumbuko said they received a number of positive inquiries from rural areas after education and awareness campaign in southern highland regions.

“The response was superb and oversubscription is inescapable as most portrayed a picture of wanting the bank like on Tuesday.

“On top of that (Mwalimu) bank has customers at hand even before opening doors,” Mr Masumbuko said. Orbit Securities General Manager Juventus Simon said other reason for oversubscription is that the Tanzania Teachers’ Union (TTU) publicised the IPO heavily, including holding seminars and road show to woo buyers.

“Unlike others IPOs at EGM (enterprise growth market) we are receiving a lot of inquiries --people want to know the bank thoroughly,” Mr Simon said, “this is going to be a hit.”

He said the TTU has also created a good platform for its members to participate in the IPO. will push for more wouldbe- investors to participate hence oversubscription.

Mwalimu Bank envisages to start in November with a capital of 25bn/- which is above the regulator threshold of 15bn/-.

The bank has already 17bn/- in hand. The bank is expected to raise 25bn/- after selling 50,000,000 shares. Each share is worth 500/- while the minimum share to be purchased is a 100-lot.

Source: Dailynews

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Tanzania Telecoms target universal coverage

MAJOR telecoms have been approved to provide their services to 112 wards being part of a government drive to provide universal telecommunication.

Vodacom, Airtel and Tigo and TTCL will provide telecommunications services to 102 wards which are un-served or underserved for a total subsidy of 7.6 million US dollars (14.2bn/-) and another 10 wards located in border areas and special zones for 1.5 million US dollars (2.7bn/-).

The subsidies have been provided to attract the operators to move to the areas which currently do not attract private investment in telecommunication service.

Representatives of the telecommunication companies signed the agreement with the Chief Executive Officer of the Universal Communications Service Access Fund, Mr Peter Ulanga, in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday.

The agreement signed on Tuesday followed a similar one signed in 2014 where the mobile telephone companies won tender to provide telecommunication services to 86 wards and another one in 2013 where 52 wards were involved.

“This is a good progress towards our goal of universal telecommunication service in the country. We hope next time more wards, perhaps 300 will be covered,” said the Minister for Communication, Science & Technology, Prof. Makame Mbarawa.

The communication operators had been invited to bid for tenders to provide communication services to 158 wards in a project involving 26.28bn/- (14.21 million US dollars).

A total of 158 wards (lots) were floated in a set of currently un-served or under-served wards within the country and 102 lots were bid successfully.

Tigo will cover 42 wards where it will receive 3.145bn/- as subsidies to move to the areas. Vodacom will go to 36 wards and will receive 6.33bn/- as subsidies.

TTCL won 19 wards and will receive 4.15bn/- as subsidies while Airtel has been approved to cover five wards and will get 566m/- as subsidies.

The mobile operators also will provide telecommunication services to 10 wards in border and special zone areas where Vodacom has two wards and will be entitled for 804.7m/- as subsidies, Tigo will go to 5 wards and will receive 985m/- as subsidies and Airtel will provide telecommunication service to three wards and will get 984.9m/- as subsidies.

Meanwhile, the Universal Communications Service Access Fund signed agreement with the Avant Communications to connect 250 public schools with internet and also establishing 25 ICT academic centres in various areas in the country.

source:dailynews

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Sending money to Kenya ... M-Pesa it!

Over 7 million M-Pesa customers in Tanzania and over 18 million Safaricom customers in Kenya can now send and receive money from each other. This revolutionary service allows for mobile wallet to wallet transfers between the two largest telecom operators in East Africa. Now, customers can transfer funds across the border at the same rate as sending money locally.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam, Vodacom Tanzania’s Managing Director said available statistics indicate that over TZS 200 billion is sent from Tanzania to Kenya annually, while the latter sends over 26 billion to Tanzania. "Statistics from the World Bank, (2013) indicate that Tanzania sent approximately TZS 200 billion to Kenya through formal channels. Estimates would indicate that more than twice that amount was transacted via informal channels including bus drivers, friends and family" stated Meza.

 

"We have looked into the hurdles that our customers need to overcome in order to send and receive money across to our neighbors in Kenya and have come up with a safe, secure and convenient way to do so. From today one doesn’t need to send money by  suka wa basi au konda or incur hefty charges to transfer school fees, buy goods or settle business payments,  he or she can do so directly from their M-Pesa wallet and… from the comfort of their home, anytime the need arises , "  says Meza.

For his part, Safaricom's Chief Operating Officer Bob Collymore said "We believe that we have launched a new chapter in the continuing growth story of M-Pesa Enabling transactions between Kenya and Tanzania will make it ever-more convenient for businesses and individuals to transact across borders and unleash the transformative power of a first of its kind cross-border payment system."

"Vodacom customers will from today be able to send and receive money to and from Kenya through the same process that they are already used to. Their experience is the same as that of sending money nationally, the only difference is that a customer can now choose option 3 - send money to M-Pesa Kenya- and enter the mobile number beginning with the +254…prefix,” added Meza. “Even before the money is sent, the customer will be shown the Kenyan Shillings equivalent value of the money that the customer in Kenya will receive. The currency conversion will happen immediately and the money will be available instantly for withdrawal or making bill payments, buying airtime or any other services on M-Pesa" he added.

M-Pesa is offered by Vodacom Tanzania Limited and Safaricom in Kenya – the region’s two biggest telecom operators. Vodacom has approximately 65% market share of mobile financial services in Tanzania whereas Safaricom commands over 80% share in Kenya. Meza further says, “Our combined distribution of over 150,000 agents in Tanzania and Kenya will ensure that our customers continue to enjoy the many benefits that M-Pesa offers them today. This groundbreaking service in the evolution of mobile financial services as we know it today is supported by a fully-fledged customer service unit that is reachable 24 hours every day.”

"Kenya is Tanzania’s largest trading partner and it was therefore logical that we activate the service there first. This is our own way of further cementing the ties that bind the people of the EAC region," says Meza. He goes on to say that communication is about connecting people and communities regardless of the geographical barriers that stand between them – something that Vodacom does only too well across the countries where it has a presence around the world.

Tanzania is home to approximately 300,000 Kenyans who remit funds to their home country via informal ways and channels including bus drivers, friends and family. There is also a sizeable part of the Tanzanian population that has chosen to educate their children in Kenya and rely on the very same means to transfer money. "This service will now empower a trader or a small business owner in Kariakoo or any other part of Tanzania to transact with his customers or suppliers in Kenya.  For the parents whose children go to school in Kenya, settlement of school fees has been simplified because of this service. Gone are the days that bus drivers, friends and family had to carry cash across the border to settle such dues For all Kenyans who reside in Tanzania today, M-Pesa now makes it easier for them to send and receive money home" added Meza.

"This service will also eradicate the need for people to carry large amounts of money in physical cash. For, it is CONVENIENT, SECURE and DIRECT and reaches the intended person INSTANTLY.  This is what Making Life Better is all about." says Meza.

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Microsoft launches Mobile Mathematics in Tanzania

Microsoft, in partnership with the Ministry of Communications, Science, Technology and Tigo Tanzania, have officially launched an innovative mobile education service called Nokia Mobile Mathematics. This service is now being managed by Microsoft, after the company acquired substantially all of Nokia’s devices and services business.

Nokia Mobile Mathematics is a service that enables learners across Tanzania to access quality mathematics content in an engaging and interactive manner directly from their mobile phones, completely free.

Mobile Mathematics offers over 9000 exercises, mapped to high school level, and can be accessed by any person with a data and browser-enabled device. In addition to the exercises, the learning service includes theories, sample question and answers, as well as social features like collaborative groups messaging and competitions. The key differentiator for the service is the ability for learners to compare their scores with peers, integrating an element of competitiveness into their learning.

“In many developing countries, the lack of engaging learning opportunities leads to high drop outs and failure rates in schools, especially in high school grades. Mobile Mathematics offers high quality learning opportunities and reliable interactive learning features for teachers and learners, thus increasing access to high quality education,” says Lilian Nganda, East Africa Communications Manager, Mobile Devices, Microsoft.

The learning service is fully browser-based and works on any connected phone, tablet or PC without needing to download an app. After a quick sign-up process, learners can practice exercises in a number of categories like algebra, trigonometry, calculus and statistics mapped to the Tanzanian curriculum. Nokia Mobile Mathematics will also help the East African community standardise education levels, and open more job opportunities for region.

Mobile Mathematics was first launched in South Africa for grade 10 – 12 learners. The content has now been localised by the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) and will be rolled out in select schools for form 1 to 4 students, as well as other users nationwide.

Tigo General Manager, Diego Gutierrez.  

‘’Learning and technology have become inextricably linked and co-dependent. Mobile technology in particular has been the most powerful catalyst of change, redefining the educational approach including content delivery. It is Tigo’s desire to contribute to improving education and knowledge transfer by enabling students all over the country to improve their maths for free, ’’ commented Tigo General Manager, Diego Gutierrez.  

Mobile Mathematics can be leveraged as a platform to deliver content for other subjects like physics, biology and languages. The service provides an opportunity for learners to extend their learning outside of the classroom in a fun and interactive manner.

Research data collected from South Africa indicates that learners’ competence levels improved by 14% compared to learners who were not using Mobile Mathematics. Additional statistics point out that 53% of students became more active users of the service, with 82% of the usage happening outside school hours.

The Mobile Mathematics service is available at https://momaths.nokia.com/tz

 Source:dewjiblog

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