29 August 2010

M-Kesho ~ Mobile Finance Revolution Continues!

Many thanks to Harvard colleague Calestous Juma for spotting this timely piece by Jamie Zimmerman and Jamie Holmes in the FP on The M-Banking Revolution ~ Why cell phones will do more for the developing world than laptops ever could. This is centrally about dominant Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom and their M-Pesa mobile payment offering...
"In May, Safaricom took it one step further, partnering with Equity Bank and offering M-Kesho, an interest-bearing savings account, to all M-Pesa users. Subscribers can now use their cell phones to transfer money from their M-Pesa accounts -- using Safaricom's existing network of nearly 20,000 licensed card vendors -- into their M-Kesho accounts. M-Kesho users are also able to access mobile microinsurance and microloan products."
Very compelling indeed! A consumer finance revolution, even...

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