President ‘thumbs-up’ mobile money

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has applauded the local mobile network operators – Orange, BTCL and Mascom for helping financial institutions close the financial divide through mobile money. “The agility of this product provides an alternative to the traditional brick and mortar of financial institutions,” said Masisi, speaking at the Orange Botswana’s 20th anniversary celebrations. He congratulated Orange for being a leader in financial technology innovation through its Orange Money product.

“The product is an essential technological bank for the unbanked,” said Masisi.Alliance for Financial Inclusion, the leading organisation on the financial inclusion policy and related regulations, estimates indicate that approximately two billion adults worldwide do not have an account in a formal financial institution. In addition, the vast majority of the unbanked adults live in developing countries.

Over the years, Orange Money has inked strategic partnership deals to increase convenience with institutions such as VISA Incorporation and other local major retailers. The World Bank collection of development indicators says the mobile money transaction per 100 000 adults in Botswana was reported at 29 1381 in 2014.

As of March 2016, statistics from Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) show Orange leads her peers in the mobile money subscriptions with 356 938 subscribers followed by Mascom at 167 356 and BTCL at 2 496. Meanwhile, Orange Botswana has engaged 14 000 hawkers to distribute its services nationwide, a development that has also been applauded by President Masisi for creating employment and empowering Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs).