The annual ICT4D Conferences have proven to be an invaluable opportunity for NGOs, private sector organizations, universities, governmental agencies and foundations to share their experience in using ICT to increase the impact of development programs and to learn from each other. In 2016, 715 individuals from 76 countries and 301 private sector and public sector and civil society explored the ways to harness the full power of digital solutions to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Our thanks to Accenture, Catholic Relief Services, Esri, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, iMerit Technology Services, Inmarsat, IS Solutions, Making All Voices Count, Mercy Corps, Microsoft, NetHope, Oxfam, Pandexio, Qualcom Wireless Reach, RTI International, SimbaNet and World Vision for making that possible.
As mobile operators launch mobile payment services, banks are launching mobile banking services. The adoption of Mobile telephony in Africa has been feted as one of the most progressive in the world, this has open avenues for new and innovates services to be developed on such a success. Mobile payment has been a flagship services developed on this nascent technology. The essence of this session is (1) to assess degree of adoption by different countries in Africa (2) the regulatory argument and (3) the blur boundaries within the mFinance business landscape.
The literature underpinning the ensuing discussion was drawn from the finding analysis of 41 research studies on mFinance in developing countries conducted by Chib et al. (2015), illuminating not only in what it reveals but in the shadows that permeate the field.
From this review we consider two issues as significant. First, trust is highlighted as a mechanism factor that leads to adoption. As the poor relies more on physical money and face-to-face relationships and mediations to exchange money, issues of trust may be important for future research, to understand more of its functions and how to manage it. It is important to note how the literature reports that trust can be transferred, being this a remarkable feature to be applied by mFinance practitioners. Second, are issues of affordability. Even though it is considered a main barrier for adoption, the literature shows that cost is relevant only for some groups. The poor must be thought of as a heterogeneous group.
