According to MSN Money, Omidyar Network, the philanthropic investment firm established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, and ACCION, a community development organization founded in 1961, have invested US $3.2 million in the Zambian start-up Mobile Transactions. Mobile Transactions offers a range of products to move money electronically targeting Zambian individuals and organisations.
[quote]Omidyar Network and ACCION International announced today that they have invested US $3.2 million in Mobile Transactions International, a Zambia-based company that leverages mobile technology and an agent network to enable financial transactions across the Zambian economy. The $4 million investment round also includes $500,000 in converted debt funding from Mennonite Economic Development Associates. With a proprietary technology platform and countrywide agent network, Mobile Transactions makes transacting easy, quick and safe by replacing cash with electronic currency. The investment from Omidyar Network and ACCION, the first venture capital deal in a Zambian start-up technology company, will enable Mobile Transactions to develop its leadership team, agent network, and technology platform to provide financial access to underserved organizations and base-of-the-pyramid consumers in Zambia and in new markets.[/quote]
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Fabulous news. Always great to see technology and opporutnity been made available to evryone and not just a priveleged few. “Inclusive growth” at its best.