Tanzania
has already seen large growth in its mobile money services, in line with
economic progress. Now, Vodacom Tanzania has reported that its mobile
money service, M-Pesa, has reached over 4.4 million users across the
country, or some 48 percent of its total customer base.
M-Pesa was
launched four years ago, and after an initial slow uptake, the service has
taken off across the country.
CEO Rene Meza
said “about TZS 35 billion is transacted daily through M-Pesa and attributed
this to the fact that the service is safe and reliable and is available
throughout the country.”
He
added that “efforts to drive access to the product have grown steadily, and
Vodacom has managed to build an agent network of over 35,000 outlets.” Similar
services from Vodacom are set to be rolled out in the DRC, Mozambique and
Lesotho over the next nine months.
Mobile money
services are seen as a key ingredient to furthering economic growth in Tanzania
and the Vodacom report is a positive sign that users are employing their mobile
phone devices for that purpose.
Tanzania has
reported massive economic growth in recent years, making it one of the most
vibrant economies in Africa.