Tigo gives back $2.1million in mobile money profits to subscribers

20/01/201620/01/2016 Sandi

Mobile operator Tigo Tanzania just split $2.1 million of its profits from its mobile money service, Tigo Pesa with its 4.6 million users. Beneficiaries of the $2.1 million quarterly pay-out include individual customers, retail agents and businesses.

In order to promote financial inclusion in the country, Tigo started to share its Trust Account profits in 2014 with its Tigo Pesa mobile money users, who would be paid out quarterly amounts based on the value of the money they stored in their eWallet.

Tigo Head of Finance and Risk for Mobile Financial Services, Obedi Laiser said at a press conference in Dar es Salaam recently that “The objective of this dividend is to offer all Tigopesa stakeholders an opportunity to share in this return on their investment depending on the e-value they have stored in their Tigopesa wallets.”

This is the 7th quarterly payout since Tigo started sharing profits with its mobile money clients in 2014.

Why isn’t this loyalty incentive happening in Zambia too?!

With the slow rate of adoption of mobile money from mobile operators, this would be a great push for financial inclusion of the largely unbanked population, knowing they could get returns on using the service. All the operators have to do is ensure the service works in real time, no hiccups or delays. Mobile penetration is quite high in Zambia and mobile money needs to become a necessity like Tigo Pesa is growing to become.

All we really see are bonuses on talk-time, data, the small things. How about returns where it really matters and for the greater good; getting more people to be financially literate with their mobile phones?