SOUTH AFRICAN MOBILE ENABLEMENT GIANT
TARGETS AFRICAN CELLPHONE BANKING AND
TRANSACTIONAL SERVICES BUSINESS
A
South African mobile enablement giant has become one of the
first and biggest service providers in Africa covering over 1000
networks in more than 220 territories and countries. What was
once a local South African start-up company is now growing
its business by targeting the development of Africa’s fast-growing mobile
banking and financial services sector.
Clickatell has extensive reach into the African mobile
communications market, which enables it to deliver financial transactions
alongside its traditional messaging business. They already operate in
Nigeria and Rwanda, with Kenya and Ghana to follow shortly.
They differentiate themselves by enabling banks to reach and transact
with their clients securely through cost-effective channels, thus reducing
the bank’s cost to serve. Simultaneously, they can also drive the bank’s
cost to serve down further by building additional revenue streams into
their offerings, such as the convenience of selling prepaid airtime and
other value-added services.
Clickatell sees the mobile market as the number one area for growth in
the banking and retail sectors, especially in Africa where not everyone
has access to a computer or to a local bank branch.
The growth of mobile networks across Africa has been exponential.
A recent study showed that by 2015 more people in Africa will have
access to a mobile network than will have electri