MTN Uganda and Fundamo shortlisted for 2011 Global Mobile Awards

MTN Uganda and Fundamo have been shortlisted for the ‘Mobile Money for the Unbanked Award’ in this year’s Global Mobile Awards for the hugely successful MTN MobileMoney service in Uganda.

The Global Mobile Awards, which will be held in Barcelona, Spain, on 15 February 2011, honour excellence and innovation in mobile communications worldwide.

The Best Mobile Money for the Unbanked Award aims to recognise innovative mobile money services that provide low income communities with the financial access they would otherwise be without.

MTN Uganda partnered with Fundamo, the largest specialist mobile financial services provider, who implemented stringent design principles required for secure banking systems, whilst also taking full advantage of the unique characteristics of the mobile phone and the mobile user experience.

Since its launch in 2009, MTN MobileMoney in Uganda has grown in leaps and bounds, providing banking services to hundreds of thousands of the unbanked in Uganda.

Subscribers using the MTN MobileMoney service in Uganda has grown to approximately 1, 5 subscribers, with average transactions to date through the service amounting to 1.7 trillion Uganda shillings (about USD753 million).

Over 2 500 MTN Mobile Money agents are spread across Uganda, and the system is now been utilized to pay for services such as pay television and water services.

“A nomination for the Global Mobile Awards is significant accomplishment and highlights the continuing success of MTN MobileMoney in Uganda,” said Richard Mwami, Head of Public Access & Mobile Money, MTN Uganda.

“We always carefully select our partners and Fundamo’s vast experience in delivering mobile financial services that scale to cope with accelerated uptake made them the obvious choice. Our work with Fundamo has been of the highest calibre and we look forward to continuing our work together for years to come.”

Says Hannes van Rensburg, CEO at Fundamo: “We are very excited that our work with MTN Uganda has made the shortlist for such a highly respected award. We have seen MTN MobileMoney in Uganda grow at an unprecedented rate, registering over one million users in its first year. We are extremely proud to have been part of its remarkable success and thrilled that it will now be recognised by the global mobile community.”

Rob Conway, CEO of the GSMA concluded: “Our congratulations go to all the nominees in this year’s Global Mobile Awards. To get down to just 115 nominees across 10 categories, from more than 470 high calibre entries, certainly presented our judges with a tough challenge this year. It is a great achievement to be shortlisted among such a high quality field of entrants and we eagerly anticipate the announcement of the winners on Tuesday 15th February 2011 at the Mobile World Congress and look forward to showcasing another great year of innovation for the mobile industry.”