Zain Iraqi unit gets $400 mn debt facility
The Iraqi unit of Kuwait’s telecom firm Zain stated that it had received a 7-year, $400 million debt facility from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation.
According to Zain, the long-term debt facility will not only help Zain Iraq expand service coverage and improve telecommunications quality throughout Iraq but also help unlock opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation and increase employment in the key industry.
World Bank selects Michael Joseph to expand m-banking
The former CEO of Kenya’s Safaricom, Michael Joseph, has been appointed as the advisor for World Bank on mobile payment services. Safaricom effectively created the market for mobile banking services when it launched the hugely successful M-PESA platform, which has been imitated in many other countries since then.
Michael Joseph is joining the bank under its new fellowship program, which was set up to tap new expertise into its development work and strengthens its knowledge network.
The former Chief Executive Officer of Safaricom feels deeply honored to have been selected as the first fellow by the World Bank and is delighted to work with the leading development institution and be a part of the global effort to fight poverty.
As a World Bank Fellow, Joseph will provide strategic advice to the World Bank and governments beyond Africa on policy and regulatory issues to promote development of mobile banking and mobile payments.
According to Johannes Zutt, World Bank Country Director for Kenya, sharing knowledge on telecommunications innovations, including mobile money, can make an important contribution to Africa’s reform and development. Michael Joseph’s participation in the World Bank Fellows program will leverage the Bank’s interventions in technology and financial services in new frontiers in line with our new Africa Strategy.
Japan’s KDDI invests in Mobile Banking Service Provider
Japan’s KDDI Corp has invested US$22 million in USA based Microfinance International Corp. (MFIC) to support its global expansion. This will help in developing an open mobile payment platform worldwide.
According to KDDI, it aimed to combine its relationship with over 600 carriers and MFIC’s money transfer solution, which is connected to a network of payers in 90 countries to develop mobile banking applications.
According to Takashi Tanaka, President of KDDI, the company is seeing more and more convergence of telecommunications and financial services going on worldwide, still most of them are local movements. In such circumstances, the company is very excited and looking forward to the collaboration with MFIC who has extensive financial expertise, bringing both of them a chance for true global business development.
As the first step of collaboration, in January 2011 Locus Telecommunications, KDDI’s subsidiary headquartered in New Jersey is launching a new service in the US, allowing customers to send money overseas using a multi-purpose calling card.
According to CGAP, a micro-finance group based at the World Bank, the number of those who lack a bank account but have mobile phone will reach 1.7 billion in 2012, about 70% of the entire unbanked population worldwide.
Tata Communications to acquire Suntel (India, Sri Lanka)
Tata Communications (TLC) is going to acquire Sri Lanka’s second-largest land-based telephone company Suntel.
According to a source, the Indian firm had submitted the bid last month and is in advanced negotiations with Suntel. According to documents available with ET, the acquisition will be routed through the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Tata Communications Lanka.
According to the company, TCL intends to acquire 100% of Suntel, Sri Lanka, with a view to provide domestic data services wireless network and to access local customer business.
One of the major reasons for the proposed acquisition is the change in the business plan by TCL. The company is planning to enter the outbound voice traffic and data business.
According to another source, the Indian company is also looking for enterprise businesses. TCL also has long-distance and internet service provider licenses in Sri Lanka. Although the exact valuation is not known, the bid would be smaller than the previous one since the company’s performance has not been in line with growth projections in the last couple of years. This time, the deal size is likely to be much lower than the previous bid amount as the Sri Lankan company has not grown according to the projection in the last two years.
Suntel is currently owned by a joint venture between Swedish telecom giant, Metrocorp, Townsend of Hong Kong, National Development Bank, and International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
Mobile Money not a buzz in Europe
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The idea of transferring the money via mobile phone has got a tremendous response in emerging markets like Africa, India and Latin America but the move is likely to be a slow and tortuous affair in Europe.
In Europe mobile payments have not moved beyond the trial stage and it is believed by many industry executives that consumers will only make mobile payments in certain niche situations in the short term, potentially denying operators a way to increase customer loyalty and gain additional revenues.
According to Mark Pickens, an analyst at the microfinance centre CGAP based at the World Bank, Mobile money is going to be a longer slog that takes more brain power and maybe more commitment than a lot of the operators are used to putting into value-added services. It has been predicted by the telecom trade body GSMA that operators could make USD 5 billion from financial services by “banking” 364 million unbanked people by 2012.
Call for Participants & Sponsors: The Mobile Web In Developing Countries Workshop
So, I am on a a W3C programming committee for a “Mobile Web In Developing Countries” workshop to take take place this 5-6 of December 2006 in Bangalore, India.
We are looking for participants and or sponsors. and are therefore beginning the call for experts to participate in the Workshop in Bangalore, India, on 5-6 December 2006. Participants will discuss the challenges, requirements, and use cases for mobile Web access in developing countries. The Workshop will bring together experts in mobile Web technologies and specialists on emerging countries and the digital divide. To participate in the Workshop, please submit a position paper by email before 1 November 2006.
“While in some countries, mobile Web access is the latest must-have for executives, it is increasingly clear that it may play an important role in the development of some communities,” said Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director. “We must ensure that the Web is designed to meet the needs of sparser populations and of those whose only access to the Web may be on their phone. I look forward to hearing a wide range of views about requirements on Web technology particular to developing countries.”
This public Workshop is part of W3C’s Mobile Web Initiative, which aims to identify and resolve challenges and issues of accessing the Web when on the move. W3C thanks the Workshop host, Jataayu Software, one of the Mobile Web Initiative sponsors. Additional sponsorship opportunities are still available.
On that note, the W3C invites your support for this Workshop through a three-tier sponsorship program designed to support participation by people or organizations who might otherwise not have the financial means to attend the meeting. Benefits of the Sponsorship program include public recognition of your commitment to the W3C mission. Sponsors reach those who are making decisions about the future of the Web, as well as those in the public who have come to rely on the Web as critical infrastructure for development.
One important step in bridging the “digital divide” — the lack of access and ability to use information services by a portion of society — is the deployment of mobile networks around the world. According to the World Bank, more than two billion people own a mobile phone and 80% of the world’s population has access to GSM service. With one million new subscribers every day, almost four billion people will have a mobile phone by the end of 2010.
Although access to phone service is fundamental, W3C considers access to Internet services such as email and the Web vital for education, commerce, and communication. High speed mobile data networks and more affordable Web-enabled phones are helping to make this access possible in the developing world. For some, telephones may be the primary, or even sole, means to access the Web. In order to deliver Web standards that enable access for all, W3C is organizing this Workshop to learn more about the specific needs, expectations, and challenges faced by people in developing countries.
Source-http://www.mobileactive.org
Technorati : Mobile, Mobile Web, W3C, Wireless
Ice Rocket : Mobile, Mobile Web, W3C, Wireless
