Banker S.A. March 2013 | Page 48

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 growt و[ؚ[H