8th Apr 2008 11:40
Vodafone Group Plc08 April 2008 8 April 2008 VODACOM ANNOUNCES INTENTION TO LAUNCH VODAFONE M-PESA MOBILE MONEY TRANSFER SERVICE IN TANZANIA * Service set to revolutionise money in Tanzania, bringing Vodafone's award-winning money transfer service to a second African market Some 4.1 million Vodacom customers in Tanzania will soon be able to use theirmobile phones to send money home and to loved-ones safely and securely with theleading network operator's new Vodafone M-PESA service. Vodacom plans to launchthe service at the end of April 2008. Vodacom, the leading mobile network operator in Southern Africa, has operationsin the Republic of South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho, Mozambique and theDemocratic Republic of the Congo. Vodacom Group is a joint venture betweenVodafone and Telkom South Africa. The launch of Vodafone M-PESA in Tanzania willsee Vodafone's award-winning mobile money transfer service available in a secondAfrican market. Vodafone M-PESA was originally developed and deployed by Vodafone in Kenya,where the service has now been running for over one year, with more than 1.6million active customers. In February 2008, Vodafone launched the service in asecond market, Afghanistan in partnership with the Afghani operator Roshan. "M-PESA, meaning M for mobile and Pesa for money in Swahili, is one of theworld's first cellphone-to-cellphone PESA transfer services for people who donot have access to conventional banks," said Vodacom Tanzania managing directorDietlof Mare. "After finalisation of all technical and other requirements, the service shouldbe available to Tanzanians from the 28 April 2008," Mare said. Vodafone M-PESA is a service that is expected to revolutionise the wayTanzanians manage money. "Of the 21 million Tanzanians over the age of 16, only1.6 million currently have a bank account, but more than 7.5 million Tanzanianshave a cellphone or have access to a cellphone," Mare said. Hatem Dowidar, CEO of Vodafone Partner Markets said: "We are delighted thatVodafone, with our partner Vodacom, will be extending our award-winning M-PESAmobile money transfer service to Tanzania. "Along with neighbouring Kenya, Tanzania is fundamentally a cash-based economy,and this service will provide an instant, effective and secure way forTanzanians to send, store and receive money, wherever they are in the country.We welcome them to the Vodafone M-PESA community." CEO of the Vodacom Group Alan Knott-Craig said cellphones have already changedthe lives of millions of people on the African continent. "With more than 225million cellphone users in Africa according to the World Bank, many people havehad the benefit of telephonic communication for the first time in their lives. "Now cellphone-to-cellphone PESA transfer will add huge value to the lives ofmany more people. This highly sophisticated first-world technology will make itpossible for millions of Tanzanians who do not have ready access to banking, tosafeguard and distribute their capital. The economic benefits, especially inrural areas, will be enormous," Knott-Craig said. Vodafone M-PESA is available only to Vodacom customers, who have to providetheir mobile phone number and identification at an M-PESA agent, which willinclude Vodacom airtime dealers and selected petrol stations, post offices,banks or supermarkets. Both pre-paid and post-paid Vodacom customers will beable to open a Vodafone M-PESA account at no cost. - ends - For Further Information Vodafone Group Media RelationsTel: +44 1635 664444 Vodacom Group Media Relations:Tel: +27 11 653 5440 About Vodafone Vodafone is the world's leading international mobile communications group withover 252 million proportionate customers as at 31 December 2007. Vodafonecurrently has equity interests in 25 countries across five continents and afurther 40 partner networks worldwide. For more information, please visitwww.vodafone.com About Vodacom Vodacom is a pan-African cellular communications company providing a world-classGSM service to millions of customers in South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho,Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Vodacom is the market leader inall of the countries it operates in, with the exception of Mozambique. Thecommercial availability of mobile broadband services via UMTS (3G) in SouthAfrica (since 2005) and Tanzania (since 2007) affirms its leadership in offeringthe latest technologies and innovations. For more information please visitwww.vodacom.com For more information on Vodacom Tanzania, please visit www.vodacom.co.tz This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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