Nigeria-based Mobile Money Africa has concluded plans to host stakeholders to Unbanked Africa Summit 2011, tomorrow at Oriental Hotels, Lagos, with the theme: Mobile Phone: An opportunity for Low cost Banking in Africa. Principal Associate, Mr. Emmanuel Okoegwale said that Africa is home to over 800 million people unbanked and mobile phone be used to drive adaptation and cultivating this population.
“Africa is still grappling with significant unbanked populations even among the urban populations across cities, semi urban and rural communities. Regulators, innovators, technologist, financial services providers, international developmental organizations and governments are rallying around this significant dilemma of Banking the unbanked African,” he said.
New exciting technologies like the Mobile and cards are bridging the wide divide with innovative solutions like agency Banking, mobile financial services, community and micro finance Banking.
He noted that unlike any other place on the globe, mobile financial services is ushering a new dawn and hope to millions of unbanked people in Africa.
This, he said, brings convenience of banking anytime and anywhere using the mobile phones as a means of authentication for basic financial services.
Okoegwale further said mobile technologies is proving to be the solution to a century old challenge as a transformational channel for previously unbanked which are accessing services for the first time through the convenience and security of the mobile phone.
He highlighted that the ubiquitous mobile phone with the strong compelling needs of Africans, coupled with sheer ingenuity is changing lives and connecting Africans to the global e-commerce ecosystem which is more advanced with formal Banking services.
“With Nigeria’s quest to join the likes of Kenya, Ghana and Rwanda in mobile financial ecosystem, Central Bank of Nigeria is actively reviewing the approval in principal granted to sixteen firms while additional fresh seven, received approvals in principal to commence pilot projects,” he said.
According to him, Pieter de Villiers, Ceo of world’s largest online sms provider, Clickatell, will be leading other speakers to this continental summit.
Other speakers, he said, would come from Ghana’s first mobile based micro finance Bank, Glife financial services, Craft Sillion of Kenya, Globalmpay of US and other leading innovators will be showcasing, new exciting technologies to reach the unbanked African at the event.
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