Mahindra Comviva, a global provider of mobility solutions, and EcoCash, a mobile money service provider in Zimbabwe are the joint winners at the 6th edition of the Kalahari awards.

The award is the second consecutive win for Mahindra Comviva. It was received for EcoCash Savings Club in the Best Mobile Innovation Category at the 6th Remittance & mobilemoneyexpo, held at Lagos, Nigeria. EcoCash Savings Club, powered by Mahindra Comviva’s mobiquity® Money platform is a group saving service which digitises traditional savings club in Zimbabwe and makes them more inclusive, secure and transparent. The award is aimed at the self-employed, informal sector entrepreneurs, street vendors, and women’s group who were limited to informal group savings previously as they were considered financially ineligible by mainstream banks.

EcoCash Savings Club is a paradigm shift to a broader mobile based group savings, which, so far, was based on an archaic lock and key system (locally known as “Mukando” or “Maround”). Savings club can now be initiated on the mobile by any EcoCash user and used to invite new participants and make safe and seamless fund transfers through multiple SMS signoffs.

Commenting on the achievement, Srinivas Nidugondi, SVP and head of Mobile Financial Solutions at Mahindra Comviva, said, “In a market like Zimbabwe, mobile based savings club can drive social as well economic empowerment in all rungs of the society, whether it be the small or marginal farmer in need of some capital for buying seeds and farming implements, or the new or expecting mother in need of financial support while her baby is on the way. Besides driving socio-economic development, it also lays a strong economic base by mobilising small deposits from the financially excluded.”“The award is a big motivation for us as it validates our belief in the role of technology as a catalyst for driving transformations in the society and at the same time motivates us to focus on innovative digital propositions,” he further added.

The Kalahari Awards honour organisations that have made significant contributions to the digital financial services sector and are poised to make considerable market impact in the future. The Awards are dedicated to acknowledging creativity, commitment and excellence in the mobile financial services across Africa. The award presented during the 6th Remittance & mobilemoneyexpo at Lagos, Nigeria is in recognition of Mahindra Comviva’s commitment to accelerate the adoption of digital commerce through its comprehensive portfolio of solutions catering to the entire ecosystem – consumers, merchants, and banks. The mobile financial suite of products powers over 120 mobile services in 55 countries and serves over 750 million mobile users globally.

Mobile devices have enabled emerging markets like Zimbabwe, a window to offer customers a full range of integrated financial services on mobile. Mahindra Comviva is working towards building a viable, vibrant payments ecosystem enabling businesses and consumers to enter into mutually rewarding relationships. With mobiquity® Money, service providers can enable banked and unbanked consumers to transact money and make payments seamlessly. mobiquity® Money empowers consumers with a mobile stored valued account for conducting a wide range of financial transactions quickly and efficiently. Backed with multi-level, bank-grade security for service and payment, it helps reduce fraud and increase consumer trust and confidence.

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