Comments on: A Mobile Banking System for Africa

By: Derso

Derso — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:37:21 +0000

I need to now in detail about the mobile banking system so please provide documents that can be show every detial of the mobile banking system by texts as well as graphics i’m writing a simple book about the mobile banking system to crate awarness for the people, concidering this brefie and detail documents which show in a simple way for computer profissionals.

By: Back to the Mobile eCommerce Problem in Africa | White African

Back to the Mobile eCommerce Problem in Africa | White African — Fri, 25 May 2007 11:59:10 +0000

[…] eCommerce to the continent. (For those interested, I first wrote about it a year ago here, and more here.) The base problem is that there are no options for entrepreneurs who don’t have some type of […]

By: White African :: where africa and technology collide » Blog Archive » Visa to Launch a Global Mobile Phone Payment System

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 21:58:51 +0000

[…] If you’ve read any of my past thoughts on the mobile phone being underutalized as a platform for commerce transactions. So, this development is very exciting. It will be extremely successful if they have the same international coverage with this system as they do with their normal Visa card. […]

By: Ntwiga

Ntwiga — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 19:13:18 +0000

Hash

This is an idea whose time is coming.

Someone will have to come up with an efficient and safe way to make micro-payments and money transfers for people in Africa without credit cards. I think that even more important is what you have touched on here: the ability to borrow very small amounts without any delay (which is essentially what you do with a credit card).

Cell phones seem to be the ideal medium for this at this point due to their ubiquity combined with a lack of terminal connectivity (no credit processing machines on the ground) thanks to the high initial cost to obtain these.

Can’t wait to see how this pans out.

– Steve

By: VituVingiSana

VituVingiSana — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 18:46:47 +0000

My fear is that government mandarins will sabotage the system since there are lots of politically connected “lenders” esp in the pawnshop-style business aka loansharks…

Certainly beat sending money via Western Union or any of the other services. Nevertheless there are risks e.g. coercion…

In the (good) ol’ days – Cash meant going to the bank. Limited means of extracting cash from a victim!

Today – Forces the victim to withdraw from an ATM.

Tomorrow – Sms the cash over asap! Or steal the victim’s password/account.

By: Angry-Gus

Angry-Gus — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 03:20:03 +0000

Investment (at all levels but certainly at the bottom) is the most important nutrient for an economy and Africa is extremely deficient in it. While investors do have legitimate (though overly generalized) concerns about investing in Africa, there is so much untapped potential that a system like this could have a lot of impact, both direct and indirect. It is certainly not a panacea but Africa does not need panaceas, it needs real world solutions and there is nothing more “real world” than investment at the level where it is needed most.

By: single woman

single woman — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 22:07:58 +0000

Even that idea to build a health care insurance for these Conties (for just a view cents) is a geat thing. Would love we have more great thinker on our planet…

By: John Powers

John Powers — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 06:16:27 +0000

I agree with anonymous and Ben Botes: I love your blog and am so happy to see this topic spreading.

I watched the Front Line episode on Kiva. I saw it via YouTube but it didn’t seem to turn up on my search. Matthew Flannery said in it that the next big thing will be Kiva where Africans will lend to Africans.

So many things about Kiva’s model are so impressive. The ways they’ve figured out to use mobile phones for one. The idea of some “African investors stepping up to the plate” is so great because how they do it will surely be a surprise. Well, maybe not a surprise to you and Ben Botes!

It’s so great to see how persistent you are about not letting good ideas go by without action. AfriPay is a great idea. Did you see this? http://www.worldchanging.com/archives//005493.html It’s about ATMs friendly to the poor. Also there was a post by Jan Chipchase http://www.janchipchase.com/blog/archives/2006/10/connecting_the.html About pooling and sente–somewhere I saw more in depth, but you’ll note this moth he’ll be making a presentation on the topic.

My predictions is that cell phones will be a big part of the AfriPay model. It’s interesting how Grameen is negotiating this area with the Grameen Bank and Grameen Telecom.

There’s not question that new models of doing business and banking are going to ruffle feathers, as Flannery at Kiva has discovered. But altogether Kiva’s success is so encouraging. And I was so inspired that in the Front Line piece Flannery pointed to the day when Africans will lend to Africans, not as some distant hope but a more immediate potential.

By: Ben Botes

Ben Botes — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 21:33:04 +0000

Hi Erik

You are very right here, of course its the whole of Africa that deserves this type of scheme. I actually find it astonishing that with all the grants and funding flowing into Africa, none that I know of is reaching our black woman entrepreneurs.

I like your AfriPay concept it could be viable once the model is perfected and the stigma of investment and funding provided to Africa goes to the fat cats and not those who need it. A strong network is needed as the logistics may be daunting.

More ideas and thoughts on this is needed. I’m not sure if we are seeing the whole picture yet.

Great to see this topic spreading a bit.

Ben

By: anonymous

anonymous — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 20:21:51 +0000

Hello

I totally love your blog. Very informational and full of substance. Cheers.