MTN Money Uganda Limited, the wholly owned mobile money subsidiary of MTN Uganda partnered with JUMO, a technology company building next-generation financial services for emerging markets to launch MoSente, a new credit service that will afford the people of Uganda more choice when it comes to mobile lending services.
MoSente is a convenient way for MTN customers to access credit facilities. Customers can borrow from UGX 10 000 at a variable term that fits their personal circumstances or earning cycles. MoSente is easily accessible, in real-time, and available to registered MTN subscribers and mobile money users when they dial *165*5*5# and follow the prompts.
MTN currently represents more than half (53%) of all mobile subscribers in the country, which means 15 million people, roughly a third of Uganda’s population, will have the opportunity to access tailored lending products to suit their business and living requirements. According to Financial Sector Deepening Uganda (FSDU), 22% of Ugandans are financially excluded and 56% use informal financial services. Financial inclusion is significantly skewed towards adults in urban areas (86%), making access to mobile banking anywhere, anytime a significant milestone.
“In a market where large segments of the population are still unbanked, in large part due to lack of access to easy and convenient credit, our partnership with JUMO is an important milestone for advancing financial inclusion for the people of Uganda,” says Richard Yego, Managing Director, MTN Mobile Money Uganda.
JUMO’s Africa CEO, Buhle Goslar, said: “Our work with MTN is focused on supporting entrepreneurs who need simple, quick access to working capital to grow their businesses. We offer them the opportunity to increase their access to credit in the long-term, through ongoing responsible loan management.”
Both MTN Mobile Money Uganda and JUMO are familiar with the financial needs of the Ugandan market. MTN has operated a similar credit service called MoKash on their Mobile Financial Services Platform since 2017. JUMO has operated a similar mobile lending product delivered in partnership with other mobile network providers for the last five years.
JUMO is currently the underwriter and capital provider for both MoSente and WeWole. The company has developed a large pool of capital to reach new customers and serve digital financial products to the financially excluded market segments.
UK Scholarships Unit Head Visits Uganda to Strengthen Chevening and Commonwealth Education Partnerships“Partnerships between financial technology companies like JUMO and mobile money providers are essential to creating more opportunities for the people of Uganda to borrow and save conveniently using their mobile phones,” says Wilfred Wabwire, Country Manager for JUMO Uganda.
JUMO’s intelligent banking technology reduces the unit economics on the delivery and administration of financial products so that customers can access high-value products at low prices and partners such as telcos, impact investors and banks can reach new markets. The launch of MoSente in Uganda forms part of JUMO’s long-term growth plan for Africa. The company is launching new products and expanding into new markets, such as Nigeria and Cameroon, post their fundraise of $120 million in 2021.
With its 120,000 mobile money agents and approximately 8.5 million active 30-day MTN Mobile Money subscribers, the company is the leading mobile money company, closely followed by Airtel Mobile Commerce Uganda Limited, owned by Airtel Uganda Limited, MTN’s closes competitor.
According to industry sources, MTN Mobile Money controls about 54% of the market share, compared to Airtel’s 46%. MTN also controls 55% of the number of transactions, 60% of value transacted and 60% of mobile money sub-sector revenue.
As of February 2021, the number of registered mobile money customers in Uganda amounted to over 30 million. From 2015 to 2020, the number of people with a mobile money account in the country increased annually. Moreover, in the third quarter of 2019, the value of mobile money transactions in Uganda corresponded to 5.2 billion U.S. dollars.
Recently, MTN reduced their mobile money withdraw rates effective 8th April 2022. This means you can now enjoy the best withdrawal rates and also get MTN Senkyu Points when you use MTN MoMo.
