Director-General of Ghana Advanced Information Technology Institute (AITI-KACE), the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of ICT Excellence, Mrs. Dorothy Gordon has commended Nigeria over the process of licensing the mobile money operators.
Speaking at the Mobile Money – The New Eco-system forum in Lagos, organized by the ITWorld International Magazine, Mrs. Gordon who was a special guest at the event said that the commendation has become necessary because the federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is following processes to ensure that credible companies play in this emerging sector on the continent.
According to her, the Nigerian government is engaging the small and medium scale enterprises in its processes because CBN invariably discovered that those SMEs drive businesses.
She, therefore, applauded the event organizers, saying that every stakeholder is needed to contribute in making certain that the procedure of the government in launching mobile money in the country does not derail, but flourish.
Gordon also said that though some African countries like Ghana, Kenya and many others may have launched mobile money before Nigeria, but expressed optimism on the manner the CBN is handling the choice of licensees for mobile money.
As said by her, it’s true that most African countries may have experimented on mobile money before now, but it has been full of hiccups, hence she was excited with the phases which Nigeria has involved in introducing the service.
She looks forward to the licensees to take full advantage and implement the service in accordance with the CBN guidelines, recalling that the success of Kenyan Mobile Money subsector was sustained with the financial aid from international organization, for the trials and which last for over six years.
In his address to the occasion, the chief executive officer, ITWorld, Mr. Enyi Moses, noted that the decision to organize the forum on “Mobile Money: The New Ecosystem” followed an increased public interest in Mobile Money.
He said that the Nigerian public is following developments around the globe concerning Mobile Money, pointing out that in the case of East Africa where Mobile Money is a thriving business running into several billion dollars is very fresh in mind.
Mr. Enyi noted at the event presided over by the Group Chief Executive officer, Teledom Group, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, that no longer is Mobile Money an unproven concept since it has continued to provide millions of people around the world with access to finance and demand which have been on the rise.
“Over the next couple of years the numbers of people with access to mobile phones but no access to traditional financial services are projected to grow from 1billion to 1.7 billion,” he said, stressing that the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are poised to earn $3.7 billion in direct and indirect revenues from over 350 million clients globally.
“Whether it is for paying salaries, reimbursing suppliers, or sending remittances at home from broad, mobile money is allowing people to conduct transactions at lower cost and with greater efficiency than physical transactions,” he observed.
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