Sybase 365 has entered into a partnership with Kenyan mobile commerce services provider MobiKash Afrika, to offer intra-region, mobile network and bank agnostic, mobile commerce services for East and Southern Africa.
According to Sybase , the companies will offer mCommerce services to increase the current level of financial inclusion of the unbanked and semi-banked, through a registration process for opening mobile wallets, as well as bank account opening processes.
mCommerce services are designed for enterprises, cooperatives, insurance, medical and pension schemes, schools, disbursement channels, government agencies and international remittance channels, the company said.
Sybase said that the initial deployment is being piloted this year in Kenya with a combination of banks, MFIs and bill issuers utilising USSD as the mobile communication channel. In parallel, the MobiKash business model is being established in various other COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) territories where several project contracts have already been signed and deployment work has commenced.
Duncan Otieno, CEO of MobiKash Afrika, said: “Integrating financial institutions and other stakeholders into a single mobile commerce platform makes it a great deal easier for individuals, governments and businesses to manage finances. The ultimate goal is to also make it effortless for people to progress towards opening a fully integrated bank account.”
