Developing Telecoms | First mobile financial services launching in Somalia

22 May 2012

Development Agenda

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First mobile financial services launching in Somalia

Thursday, 01 December 2011 12:18 | James Barton

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Financial transactions via mobile phone will soon be possible in ungoverned East African nation of Somalia. Mobile solutions provider Comviva has announced a partnership with service provider NationLink – one of Somalia’s leading operators – to launch its ‘e-maal’ mWallet service.

The new mobile money service will be available across Somalia and will cater to under-banked and unbanked segments of the population. It supports multiple transactional methods, including cash-to-bank, cash-to-cash, cash-to-wallet and wallet-to-wallet to maximize service access. The service fully complies with regulations and benefits from a robust, open ecosystem of multiple banks, money transfer operators, billers and service providers.

The service will be powered by Comviva’s mobiquity mobile financial platform, which will allow NationLink to offer integrated financial payment service which empower subscribers to conduct a variety of transactions over the mobile. This includes international inbound transfer, domestic money transfer, prepaid airtime e-top up, utility bill payments and mobile ticketing services.

Commenting on the launch, Abdirizak Ido, President, NationLink Telecom said “By deploying Comviva’s mobile money solution, we are able to provide easy to use mobile wallet and remittance services. This step marks a significant milestone, as this is the first mobile money service in the region, which we are confident will transform the lives of people in Somalia.”

Commenting on the partnership, Sabri Amireh, Vice President, Middle-East and North Africa, Comviva, said “Our solution will provide payment and banking services to mobile users in Somalia, enabling them to make quick, easy and secure financial transactions anywhere, anytime. This partnership further reflects our focus on serving the needs of people in emerging markets.”

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Readers Comments (1)

|2011-12-11 20:37:40 abdulkareemadam - The 1st for financial transactions over the mobile

Hello,

I think your research is wrong. Please look at TELESOM in Soamliland and there ZAAD program that has been going strong for over 2 years!!!!

Much better and as a British businessman I found it fantastic to use. So simple and no money needed to carry on me for my whole trip. That's what I call security in transaction!