by Megan McGowan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel, Tanzania Postal Bank (TPB) Partner to Offer Mobile Banking Services

Airtel Tanzania, a subsidiary of Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel, and Tanzania Postal Bank (TPB), a Tanzania-based bank that provides financial services to people in rural areas who do not have access to traditional banks, reportedly are partnering to offer free mobile financial services to their customers.

by Megan McGowan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel Kenya, MicroEnsure, Pan Africa Life Announce Launch of Mobile Life Insurance in Kenya

MicroEnsure, a UK-based microinsurance intermediary, has announced a new partnership with Airtel Kenya, a subsidiary of Indian mobile phone company Airtel, and Pan Africa Life, a Kenyan life insurance company, to launch a mobile life insurance product in Kenya [1].

by Makai McClintock -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bharti Airtel, MicroEnsure Launch Mobile Microinsurance Service in Africa

Bharti Airtel, an Indian telecommunications services provider with operations in 150 countries, has partnered with MicroEnsure, a UK-based nonprofit microinsurance intermediary, to provide MicroEnsure’s microinsurance services to Airtel customers in Africa via mobile phone.

by Brendan Millan -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel, uniBank, Star Microinsurance Offer Free Life Insurance to Customers of Airtel Mobile Money

Commercial bank uniBank Ghana Limited reportedly has partnered with the local arm of telecommunications firm Airtel and Ghana-based insurance provider Star Microinsurance Services Limited to offer free life insurance coverage to subscribers of the mobile commerce product Airtel Money.

by Charlotte Newman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FirstBank of Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, GLO Nigeria, Etisalat Nigeria to Partner On Mobile Money

FirstBank of Nigeria PLC (FirstBank), a financial service provider in Nigeria, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Airtel Networks Limited (Airtel Nigeria), Globacom Limited Nigeria (GLO) and Etisalat Nigeria, three mobile phone service providers, to work together in an effort to provide secure, affordable and user-friendly mobile financial services in Nigeria.

by Jacqueline Foelster -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: TransferTo Partners with Vodafone Fiji, LG U+, Bharti Airtel Lanka to Launch Service Facilitating Cross-Border Mobile Money Transfers

TransferTo, a Singapore-based company that operates a global airtime transfer network, has signed agreements with three telecommunication service providers in the Asia-Pacific region targeted at customers living abroad who wish to send wireless recharge in real-time to relatives located in their home countries.

by Noah Lincoff -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Bank of India, ICICI Bank Partnering With Mobile Providers Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar to Expand Banking Options

Indian mobile service provider Vodafone Essar will become a business correspondent of ICICI Bank, while competitor Bharti Airtel has announced a joint venture with the State Bank of India (SBI).

by Yanni Hao -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Indian SKS Microfinance Teams Up with Mobile Phone Vendors Nokia and Bharti Airtel to Provide Service for Rural Customers

Microfinance institutions are teaming up with leading mobile phone makers to offer cheaper handsets customized for rural customers, according to a news report from the Indian Economic Times. The report also noted that Nokia, the world leading mobile phone supplier, is running a pilot project to sell handsets in the Andhra Pradesh state through SKS Microfinance, a non-banking finance company. Likewise, Nokia is about to launch mobile information services revolving around agriculture, education, and entertainment in the rural state of Maharashtra, in addition to partnering with a host of existing content providers to deliver information on seed, fertilizer, and pesticide costs, prevailing market prices for crops, and weather.

by Bradley Shulman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MoneyGram Partners with InTouch, MFS Africa, Thunes to Expand Options for Sending Remittances to Mobile Wallets

MoneyGram International, a money transfer company based in the US, recently announced partnerships with three companies that facilitate e-wallet services in Africa: InTouch, which is based in Senegal; MFS Africa, which is based in South Africa; and Thunes of Singapore. The partnerships are giving MoneyGram “access to mobile wallets in 28 markets in Africa,” allowing its customers

by Sophie Fiala -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Iraq, Mastercard Seek to Boost Digital Payments, Financial Inclusion

Mastercard, a US-based financial services company, recently entered a partnership with the Central Bank of Iraq to expand Iraq’s digital finance ecosystem with the aims of furthering financial inclusion, moving toward a cashless society and promoting socio-economic development in general. The effort will begin by digitizing tuition payments before expanding to address consumer spending, government collections and

by Madigan Ruch -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mobile Money Transactions in Rwanda Quadruple, Cash-outs Plummet After NBR Mandates Free Digital Payments Due to Pandemic

Airtel, an India-based telecommunications company that operates in Rwanda and 17 other countries in Africa and Asia, recently reported “a spike in data, mobile payments and voice [usage] during the lockdown” imposed by the Rwandan government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in mobile payments was encouraged by a March 15 instruction from the National Bank of Rwanda (NBR), the country’s central bank, that mobile network operators (MNOs) in