In 2014, the Ivorian government began allowing high school students to pay for their tuition electronically. Today, around 94% of the country’s 1.5 million high school students pay their tuition via mobile money, according to the ministry of education. The project was in part meant to check corruption, but it quickly turned out to be a stimulus for mobile money services, which a whopping 83% of the country now uses. Orange (40.1%), MTN (34.9%) and Moov (25%) derive their profits mainly from transaction fees, with a fraction going to the state as taxes. Traditional banking services are losing their appeal amid this mass adoption of mobile money in the west African country. Efforts by the government since 2012 to promote financial inclusion and ATM usage by waiving basic bank account fees have yielded paltry results. As banks struggle to keep their existing customers, and persuade new customers to sign up, official figures suggest that only 19% of the country’s 25 million people own a bank account, most of them civil servants, up from just 10% in 2011.
SOURCE: QUARTZ AFRICA
More Stories
South Africa Still a Long Way Off in Building a National Culture of Human Rights
After Lawsuits and Demonstrations Led by Chagossian Women, Britain Paid Some Compensation through the Mauritian Government to the Exiled Chagos Population
Sister to Egypt’s Most Prominent Political Prisoner Takes the Fight to the UN and EU
MSI Reproductive Choices in Africa Helps Women and Girls Make Informed Decisions about their Bodies and Futures
Kenya’s ‘Linda Mama’ Policy is a Step in the Right Direction Towards Universal Health Coverage
The Women and Caregivers behind Uganda’s Model for Palliative Care
Tunisian President’s Speech was Essentially the “Great Replacement” Theory, but with a Local Twist
The UN’s Largest Annual Gathering on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Tackles the Gender Digital Divide
Challenges And Opportunities – Global Survey Results On Women’s Tech Careers
WHO Director’s Insights on Health in Africa and the IIAG Results
Best Style Moments of Tems
To the World