By Ronald Ssekandi, Yuan Qing KAMPALA, (Xinhua) – Beatrice Nassanga owns a chain of pharmacies in Kampala, Uganda’s capital. Over the years her clients have turned cashless and embraced the mobile money technology. When clients or patients turn up at her pharmacies, they purchase drugs by sending a short mobile message (SMS) to her phone,...
Nairobi – Kenya tops the list of African countries with ease of access to financial services — thanks to its high uptake of mobile money — placing the country ahead of economic giants such as South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana, fresh data from the World Bank shows. The Global Findex Database 2014 said 75 per...
By Mohamed Dalmar Early in 2013, the new Somali government faced severe currency crisis caused by the sharp appreciation of Somali shilling against the U.S. dollar. I recall the criticism and the recrimination directed to the leaders of the new government who were accused of failing their responsibility of providing a monetary system for the...
By Edmund Blair ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopian banks and microfinance firms are launching mobile money services, helping reach swathes of the population that now have little access to branches or services, the mobile technology providers and banks said. The launch of the services, which allow customers to make payments or receive money via a mobile that...
Mobile phones are facilitating access to utilities in poor rural communities. But do consumers have the faith to go cashless? Rachel Banning-Lover A solar-powered MobiCharger business in Maji ya Chai, Tanzania Photograph: Mobisol For many of Thomas Duveau’s customers in rural, off-grid communities in Tanzania, buying a solar panel system for their home will be...
W.q. Maxamed Dalmar Waxaan xusuustaa sanadkii 2013 horrantiisii in dawladda Soomaaliyeed, oo markaas cusbayd, ay soo foodsaartay dhibaato dhaqaale oo kaga imaaneysey xagga sarrifka doollarka iyo shilin Soomaaliga. Waxaa xilligaas aad hoos ugu dhacay qiimaha doollarka Maraykanka markii loo fiiriyo qiimaha shilin Soomaaliga oo aad sare ugu kacay. Waxaan xusuustaa xiisaddii arrintaasi abuurtay iyo dhaliishii kululayd...
Ethiopia will allow non-financial institutions to offer mobile-money services, effectively opening up the lucrative business to telecommunication companies including the state-owned monopoly Ethio Telecom. The central bank directive comes amid plans to liberalize the telecommunications industry by offering two new licenses and selling a stake in Ethio Telecom. MTN Group Ltd., Vodacom Group Ltd. and...
By Keynan Jama Every year, Somalis abroad send home more money than the federal government spends. In 2023, remittances reached about USD 1.7 billion—more than the federal budget that year and more than the USD 1.1 billion received by aid agencies. The 2025 federal budget was USD 1.34 billion. Remittances equal roughly one-sixth of Somalia’s...
More than 900 displaced families are receiving a free mobile health service visiting Tosha and Sheeyo villages in Badhadhe, Lower Juba. These families normally have to walk about 20 kilometres to the nearest hospitals in Kudhaa district to access health care. Nasra Mohamed Ali, a mother of six in Sheeyo, said her son and daughter...
ASTA BAREISAITESAMEER GOYALKAROL KARPINSKI What if, to send money from Washington to New York, you had to call your banker in Singapore? Until 2021, what sounds like a mere thought experiment was a very real problem for businesses in Somalia, which lacked a working interbank payment system. Since then, however, the Central Bank of Somalia,...