O-Mobile secures $10m grant to promote digital economy

A Nigerian firm, O-Mobile Multimedia Limited, that specializes in technology based financial and agricultural services development, has secured a grant of $10 million from So.Sui.Ben Foundation, a Swiss-based non-governmental organization that promotes development in Africa.

The grant, meant to promote digital economy in Africa, was facilitated by Africunia Limited (trading as Africunia Bank), an innovative banking technology firm headquartered in the United Kingdom.

Chief Executive Officer of O-Mobile Multimedia Limited, Benjamin Aduli, yesterday, said the focus of the pact is to promote and deepen knowledge of the practice of digital-based services among Africans and thereby reduce poverty.

He added that the company would offer its multimedia business academy and provide free, digital and multimedia training to all interested micro, medium, small and small enterprises in Nigeria through a network of 1,200 O-Mobile academy centres that are currently being set up across the country.

The President of Africunia Bank, Don Chancellor, said the time had come to tackle poverty in Africa using every available means adding that technology will help do this.

“Development needs to be fast-tracked in Africa and we are committed to the continent’s growth through digital banking products and services.

“We are very elated about this opportunity to develop MSMEs across Nigeria and Africa and make them globally competitive in this era of technology.

“We have already started the hardwork. Working with O-mobile and So.Sui.Ben affords us the opportunity to quickly reach the unbanked and unconnected and give them access to first-world banking infrastructure and services. We believe that our partnership with a firm that already understands technology and has wide presence in Nigeria will help us quickly accomplish our goal,’’ Chancellor stated.

Aduli further said that the company had already commenced work and hoped to sign-up at least 500,000 digital banking customers for Africunia Bank within 90 days globally.

He said O-mobile had already commenced rolling out the first agency group network in Africa that will take financial, telecoms, insurance, educational, agricultural extension services and data mining services to the unbanked and unconnected in the continent.