Paul Walter

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone – mobile money opens new opportunities in Africa

By | Mon 18th February 2013 - 11:23 am

Lynne Featherstone writes on Huffington Post about the exciting innovation of mobile money:

There is money in the air in Mozambique. The deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and I have just watched Nilza and Herculano transfer 100 meticais (about two pounds) via mobile phone. They may both be standing in front of us for this demonstration, but in a country where less than 12% of adults have a bank account, the benefits of these mobile money systems can be large.

The Department for International Development (DFID) supported the launch of M-Pesa mobile money transfer when it was first launched in Kenya in 2007, and we went to check it out ahead of its launch in Mozambique. Mobile money means more small, safe, cashless transactions can happen – urban workers can send money back to rural homes; small shops and stalls can trade more and grow their business.

You can read the full article here.

* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.

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One Comment

  • Richard Dean 19th Feb '13 - 12:10am

    I presume then that, although “less than 12% of adults have a bank account”, everyone has a mobile phone?

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