This week, a significant event will take place to discuss how technology can assist Africa in managing money and finance. Organisations like the UN and World Bank are exploring solutions to support financial and banking development in Africa, but the story extends beyond the continent. Remittances and moving credit away from home are just a few reasons for their involvement.
The developed world should consider the potential business opportunities in Africa. C.K. Prahalad’s book The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits offers several suggestions for making profits in developing countries.
However, how can technology, particularly mobile technology, help?
In many villages, computers are scarce, while mobile phones are more common. Mobile phones can aid in navigating the internet and, in some cases, offer unique ways to manage money, such as M-PESA in Kenya and Vodafone’s mobile transactions service. They also provide connectivity in rural areas where physical bank branches are far away and ATMs require wiring. What about our own countries?
I hope to see you in Cairo, where the main speaker will be:
- Naguib Sawiris, CEO and Chairman, Orascom Group
- Christina Gold, President and CEO, Western Union
- Napoleon Nazareno, President & Chief Executive Officer, Smart Communications, Inc.
- Dr. Nick Hughes, Head of International Mobile Payment Solutions, Vodafone
- Sonny Sannon, President of South Asia, the Middle East and Africa at MasterCard Worldwide, welcomed attendees. Delwar Hossain Azad, Deputy Director and Head of Financial Services at Grameenphone, also opened the event.
- Robert G. Conway, CEO and Member of the Board of the GSMA, and Farida Khambata, Vice President for Asia Latin America the Middle East and North Africa at the International Finance Corporation, joined the welcome. Dr Tarek Mohamed Kamel, Minister of Communications and Information Technology of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and H.E. Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin, Minister of Investment of the Arab Republic of Egypt, also addressed the gathering.
