MARCH 19, 2012 BY DAYO OKETOLA LEAVE A COMMENT
Inadequate agent locations is one of the challenges facing the Nigerian emerging mobile money market, but as efforts are being made to address the problem, experts encourage Nigerians not to lose sight of the job opportunities available in the system, writes DAYO OKETOLA
According to the World Bank, over 40 million Nigerian youths are currently unemployed, lacking the wherewithal to keep body and soul together. While efforts are being put in place to reduce the country’s ever-widening unemployment gap, experts say the country’s fledgling mobile money system is capable of generating well over 250,000 jobs in the next three years.
Mobile money, which involves sending and receiving money via the mobile phones, is an aspect of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s cash-less policy aimed at transforming the Nigerian economy from cash-based to cash-less.
Apart from the availability of multiple payment channels such as the Automated Teller Machines, Point of Sale, and the web, mobile money is also expected to play a significant role in the entire cash-less initiative thereby reducing the huge cost spent on cash handling by the CBN annually.
Another key motive behind the cash-less policy is to provide financial inclusion to over 80 million Nigerians who have never been banked. Statistics from Enhnacing Financial Innovation & Access survey reveal that 63.5 per cent of adult males as well as 76.8 per cent of adult females in Nigeria are unbanked. Similarly, a significant 78.8 per cent of the rural population in the country is unbanked. Generally, about 74 per cent of the country’s population has never been banked.
With over 95 million active mobile subscribers, the mobile phone has become a veritable tool in providing financial inclusion to the unbanked population in Nigeria. This is not far-fetched because while the banks have only managed to attract 22 million account holders in several decades, the telecoms companies have built over 95 active customers just within a decade and all these people have mobile phones.
This is expected to boost mobile money penetration in the country and the CBN has licensed 16 operators to roll out mobile money networks in the country.
However, inadequate mobile money agent locations – that will serve as human ATMs doing cash-in and cash-out for subscribers- threatens the system.
Our correspondent gathers that all the licensed mobile money operators in the country currently rely on a little over 1,000 verifiable agent locations. As such, for the unbanked population to benefit from the mobile money scheme, agents must be widely available. This, according to experts, will help create a number of jobs in the country.
The Managing Director, Fortis Mobile Money, one of the licensed mobile money service providers, Mr. Henry Nwawuba, and the Programme Director, One Network, an organisation working on establishing 50,000 agent locations in the country before the end of 2012, Mr. Adesola Bickersteth, agree that nothing less than 250,000 jobs will be created while the mobile money scheme grows.
Nwawuba says, “Mobile money will surely facilitate the creation of employment especially because of its strong agency banking component which requires business outlets to provide mobile money services. The disparity between our population (150 million) and available bank accounts, 22 million, would require the deployment of about 250,000 agents nationwide.
“This is expected to enhance entrepreneurship in the value chain just like was experienced in the GSM sector. Mobile money will also increase business volume at agent locations by creating cross-selling opportunities and increased traffic footfalls.”
Bickersteth explains that the mobile money industry requires an estimation of one agent per 3,000 citizens or 50,000 by December 2012.
He says, “The programme will generate over 250,000 new jobs over the next three years.”
According to him, One Network is an industry stakeholder organisation including the payment switches, financial institutions, insurance companies and system integrators,among others.
He explains that the organisation will be supporting the Nigerian Postal Service in putting together all the necessary Information Technology and infrastructure tools required to interconnect and manage 50,000 or more locations.
Bickersteth adds that One Network is working with all the necessary stakeholders such as microfinance and other banks, the National Directorate of Employment, CBN, associations and cooperatives, local and state governments to contribute to building the huge network.
The aim of this project, he declares, is to create jobs in the country where unemployment is a major problem with no adequate solution in sight.
He says that the recent mobile money licensing round by the CBN created an opportunity for NIPOST in partnership with banks and micro finance banks to create a structured nationwide network of community located agents to make mobile money services accessible to all Nigerians.
He reiterates, “One Network plans to build a structured and open nationwide network of 50,000 neighbourhood agents that provide public access to citizens and financial services through about 3,000 agent supervisor locations such as post offices, microfinance and other bank branches”
Bickersteth, who discloses that 12 mobile money operators have signed an agreement with NIPOST, says that the One Network project will play a major role in creating employment for thousands of Nigerians as it establishes agent locations across the country for the mobile money scheme.
He says One Network agents will not just be able to provide mobile money services but other financial services, such as providing access to microfinance, microinsurance, and utility payments, among others.
These agents, according to him, will also be able to provide services such as SIM card and public identity registration; educational services registration; government services registration, mobile money and money transfer services; utility bill and tax payments; as well as public and micro insurance services.
Other value added services that can be provided at a typical agent location, he says, include card issuance and collection; online business services; and information verification services, among others.
He explains that it is important for people to know that becoming a One Network agent in their communities can be more lucrative than opening a chemist or provisions store.
He says,“The business opportunities for qualified One Network agents are like when GSM started 10 years ago. It’s likely we will be looking at over 150,000 people applying to become One Network agents in their neighbourhood.”
He stresses that the initiative represents a great employment generation project that can take hundreds of thousands of Nigeria’s computer literate youths out of unemployment within a very short period.
Speaking on those who can benefit from theproject, Bickersteth says that verifiable and legally registered neighborhood-based businesses or organisations such as market shops, shopping complex,supermarkets, stores and provision shops can serve as location owners. Others are restaurants, salons, petrol stations, vendors, kiosks, cybercafes, business centres, churches, mosques and town halls.
According to him, they will be required to submit applications through an agent supervisor; provide accessible and secure neighborhood location; pass a security background check; provide business documentation and KYC details; sponsor one or more certified or trained location agents; own a service terminal with backup link and power; agree to strictly adhere to CBN and other guidelines; and display branded materials and support numbers.
Bickersteth explains that these potential location owners have the potential to employ as many as possible such as computer literate secondary school leavers, graduates, and trained and certified putside bank tellers.
Known as location or field personnel,Bickersteth says the employees will be required to be sponsored by the location owner adding that with basic computer appreciation skills and satisfactory individual security background check, anybody can participate in the mobile money workforce.
Though, he says financial support can be arranged for pre-qualified location owners, Bickersteth says that will be after they have crossed such hurdles such as providing suitable locations, installing location equipment, and location members of staff have been trained and certified.
In the same vein, Nwawuba, the Fortis Mobile Money boss, who describes his company’s strategy in building agency networks, says, “In recognition of the potential for community growth and employment generation through mobile money, Fortis Mobile Money Limited is focused on community engagement for agent recruitment.
“We prospect targeted areas by organising community meetings involving small scale businesses and training them on mobile money services and how they can layer it on top of their existing businesses. These fora also expose us to the peculiarities of the community and serves as a vetting process because quite often, not all those who indicate interest during the training end up signing-up as mobile money agents.”
Experts, however, urged unemployed Nigerians to take advantage of the fledgling mobile money system to better their lots.
VISIT www.sludba.com for agent oppurtunities
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