HomeBusinessATLAS MARA PLEDGES TO UP FINANCIAL INCLUSION THROUGH TENGA

ATLAS MARA PLEDGES TO UP FINANCIAL INCLUSION THROUGH TENGA

Atlas Mara Plc says it is committed to accelerating financial inclusion by proving  convenient banking solutions for unbanked clients through the introduced Tenga Mobile Money.

Atlas Mara Managing Director James Koni said the initiative is a reflection of the company’s strategic objective of broadening access to financial services in line with the 2017 Ministry of Finance proposed National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS).

Speaking during the launch of Tenga Mobile Money at last night, Mr. Koni said the financial inclusion cannot be achieved by financial entities working in isolation, hence the bank’s partnership with Zoona Money in this initiative to enable non-bank holders to have access to their services.

“Financial inclusion for all Zambians can only be achieved through partnerships from various stakeholders both from Public and Private sector. Thus, we are partnering with Zoona through its over 1200 outlets in addition to our 67 branches and 174 ATMs across the country to facilitate the initiative,” he said.

Mr. Koni added that the Tenga Money initiative is a tool that also focuses on financial empowerment for all its clients as it enables them to save, invest and provide short term borrowing opportunities.

“Tenga can be used as a savings and investment tool which enables savings as a competitive interest rate of 12% per annum with flexible tenures, thus promoting saving in Zambia. Tenga allows you to access short term loans, in small amounts from as little as K50 for a maximum of 30 days,” Mr. Koni said.

Mr. Koni stressed that Tenga Money is an easy financial solution as can be accessed on mobile features such as Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), Android and Apple Apps on any mobile phone.

He further said that the initiative also extends to employers who making bulk payment to their employees such as farmers receiving money on institution.

And Mr. Koni emphasized that the Tenga solution will not charge customers for account maintenance as charges will only be incurred on cash withdraws at the point of transactions.

Meanwhile, Zoona Co-Founder and Zambia Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brad Magrath disclosed that Zoona is shifting from being a customer competitor in the market, to a customer enabler for other is financial service providers

Mr. Magrath added that the institution has proven its business traction and has earned trust through its consistence in the Zambian Financial Ecosystem since its inception in 2009, hence is recognition for the partnership.

“When we started the Zambian landscape was very different, only 23% of the population were financially included and we enabled people from one point to another. In 2019, we have improved the accessibility, availability, affordability and relevance of financial products and serviced, thus increased usage,” he said.

He further pledged: “Zoona will continue to focus on entrepreneurship and technology, to deliver last mile distribution solutions and solve the real customer challenges, to drive financial well-being for all Zambians.”

Related articles

Welcome to UNZA Dept of Media and Communication Studies

Learn more about us at unza.zm

From the archive

FREE FRESH MILK FOR PATIENTS AMID COVID-19

Patients at Solwezi General Hospital are receiving a nutritional boost in the form of daily deliveries of fresh milk organised by Kansanshi Foundation. The community...