Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt
Officials of the Y’ello Digital Financial Services (YDFS) Limited, a subsidiary of MTN Nigeria, last weekend were at the Rumuwoji (Mile One) Market in Port Harcourt for the regional launch and sensitisation event introducing the MoMo Agent Network financial service.
The MoMo Agent Network was officially launched in Abuja on August 29 and aims to support the Central Bank of Nigeria’s drive for financial inclusion, by providing safe and accessible money transfer to the millions of Nigeria’s underbanked and unbanked, officials said.
Flagging off the sensitisation campaign in Port Harcourt, YDFS Director, Usoro Usoro, said the MoMo Agent Network opens up a host of opportunities, one that creates employment and facilitates business in rural and urban areas across Nigeria.
According to him, the idea is to leverage MTN’s extensive distribution network and capabilities to provide financial services to the unbanked Nigerians living in communities spread across the country.
“The people we are very passionate about are those who don’t have a bank account, and we are saying that with MoMo Agent, you can send money to any part of the country. This is why we chose to visit the Mile One Market to demonstrate our service,” Usoro said.
He said the regional launch and sensitisation event was part of the YDFS’s mission to put financial services within easy reach of every bankable Nigerian.
He stated that with the MoMo Agent service complementing existing banking services via extending access to simple money transfer services and other financial services nationwide, the subsidiary plans on rolling out about 500,000 Agents across Nigeria, as well as the Federal Capital Territory.
At the launch, interested traders in the market were signed up as MoMo Agents; one such person being Ms. Obilor Ogechi, a trader in kitchen utensils. Asked why she was signing up, Ms. Ogechi said she was excited with the offering from the YDFS, saying that being a very busy businesswoman, she was certain it would make life easier for her.
“Ideally, my bank is very far from the market, and so it’s usually difficult for me leaving my shop to go send money to someone. Also, look at right now, it is raining and would have been extra difficult if I wanted to go to the bank to send money,” Ogechi said.
