Recently, Fin-Tech (Finance and Technology) has revolutionized financial access in Africa. Currently, about 60% of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa are reported to have mobile money accounts (Pasti, 2019). Mobile money does not require the Internet; it is a service that allows money transfer and payment via a mobile phone line, and if you have a mobile phone, you can use it without registering with a bank account. Considering this easy access, World Bank (2012) is paying attention. A service that can provide financial access opportunities to people who do not have a bank account (called the “Unbanked”), could be of great significance.

According to Suri and Jack (2016), the introduction of M-PESA (M stands for Mobile M and PESA means money in Swahili), which is the mobile money service that originated from the Kenyan company Safaricom, contributes to job creation and poverty reduction especially for women. In addition to M-PESA, State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2018 reported by Global System for Mobile communications Association (GSMA) predicts that Malawi’s mobile money, Mowali (from mobile wallet interoperability) will also attract attention in the near future.

On the other hand, Iwata and Hoskin (2017) pointed out the importance of fostering technology knowledge by reducing the lack of understanding of technology among women, by creating employment opportunities through the introduction of mobile money in Tanzania. Given this situation, it will likely be important to develop technological knowledge to maximize the benefits of Fin-Tech through scaling up the presence of mobile money.

References
Iwata, J. J. and Hoskin, R. (2017) “Technology application in marketing and sales among small-scale catering women entrepreneurs : a case of Moshi Municipality, Tanzania.” Innovation: Journal of Appropriate Librarianship and Information Work in Southern Africa. Vol. 2017. No. 55. pp. 4-25.
Pasti, F. (2019) State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2018. GSMA.
Suri, T., and Jack, W. (2016) “The long-run poverty and gender impacts of mobile money.” Science, 354(6317), 1288–1292.
World Bank (2012,April 19) New Database Shows Three Quarters of World’s Poor Are “Unbanked”. Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2012/04/19/new-database-shows-three-quarters-of-worlds-poor-are-unbanked.