23rd Mar 2009 09:00
23 March 2009
MONITISE AND MADE IN AFRICA SIGN JOINT VENTURE AGREEMENT TO LAUNCH PAN EAST AFRICAN MOBILE MONEY NETWORK
New Service Will Launch Initially in Uganda During the Autumn of 2009.
Monitise plc (MONI.L) the mobile money experts, and Made in Africa, the organisation which is helping drive East African economic growth, today announced the signing of their East African joint venture agreement and confirmed that their mobile money service will launch in Uganda during the autumn of 2009.
Monitise East Africa will bring financial services within reach of every consumer, both banked and unbanked, presenting the first opportunity for many people to be able to manage their money and make payments using a financial account. The service will launch initially in Uganda, followed by Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya and Zambia.
Monitise East Africa is structured as a 50/50 joint venture between Monitise and Made in Africa and has already been awarded $1.5 million by the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, which is part funded by the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), to help roll out the service. The venture will create a mobile money 'ecosystem' across the region, by bringing together multiple banks, mobile operators and service providers to deliver services that meet the needs of all consumers, both banked and unbanked, while still giving them choice of mobile operator and financial provider.
Services will include account management, money transfers to other people and payments to merchants or service providers. Customers of participating financial institutions will be able to manage their accounts and make payments directly from their mobile phone. For the many consumers across the region without a bank account, Monitise East Africa, through its partnership with E-Fulusi Africa, will allow them to set up stored value accounts in which they can hold funds and control using their mobile handset.
Ozwald Boateng, director and founder of Made in Africa and world renowned fashion designer said: Monitise East Africa is a great business which is designed to unlock the frozen wealth of Africa. This is an important step in Africa becoming part of the global economic system and at the same time will improve the lives of ordinary Africans. This is the reason why 'Made in Africa' was set up in the first place."
Chris Cleverly, director and founder of Made in Africa said: "I am absolutely delighted that we can confirm the launch of the Monitise East Africa service later this year. It has been clear for some time that the lack of access to financial services has inhibited social and financial mobility across the region. Monitise's mobile money services in the United Kingdom and North America have already demonstrated that the ecosystem model has the potential to bring together banks, operators and service providers to roll out a service that benefits the mass-market of consumers. I firmly believe that its services will have a profound impact on the lives of many people across the region."
Alastair Lukies, chief executive, Monitise plc added: "This joint venture again demonstrates the international appeal of our mobile money manager platform and its suitability across a wide variety of markets. We are now in talks with mobile network operators, banks and merchant networks to bring them into our East African ecosystem for the benefit of people across the region."
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Enquiries
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Monitise Group |
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Ben Evetts, Head of Communications |
Tel: 020 7868 5200 |
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Tom Spurgeon, Chief Financial Officer |
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Financial Dynamics |
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Juliet Clarke |
Tel: 020 7831 3113 |
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Haya Chelhot |
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Erwan Gouraud |
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About Monitise plc
Monitise plc (MONI.L), the mobile money people, has created the world's first mobile banking networks, which allow customers of multiple banks and mobile operators to perform banking and payment transactions directly from their mobile handset.
With live services in the UK and the USA, where it has delivered the MONILINK and Monitise networks in partnership with VocaLink and Metavante Corporation respectively, the Company is currently working with international partners to deliver similar safe, secure mobile banking & payment services in territories worldwide.
Current key partners include VocaLink, Metavante, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, first direct, Alliance & Leicester, Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Vodafone, Orange, O2, T-Mobile and Hutchison 3G.
www.monitisegroup.com
About Made In Africa Ltd
Made In Africa (MIA) was established by three individuals; Ozwald Boateng OBE, Pr Hassan Kimbugwe and Chris Cleverly with the aim of exposing African businesses to international investment and capital markets for the benefit of Africa.
MIA has established itself as a pan-African catalyst helping Africa bypass the business development stages of the West and Far East while finding economically successful social solutions to its own unique challenges. For the past four years MIA has been developing commercial businesses that transform the lives of Africans in terms of employment, housing, education, energy and health.
MIA is the umbrella for a series of companies each of which has its own purpose, sector of operation and management team. MIA has offices in London, Mauritius, Kampala and Accra (2009).
www.ozwaldboateng.co.uk/madeinafrica.pdf
MIA's East African vehicle is Made in Africa IB (EA) Ltd (MIAIB) is the founder and one of of only eight owners of the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE). MIAIB is licensed by the Capital Markets Authority and has a guaranteed seat on the proposed East African Securities Exchange (EASE) to be formed by merger of the Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ugandan exchanges.
http://miaibea.net/
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