Uganda’s banking sector has been hesitant to adopt digital solutions, despite the fact that 27 million of the country’s 45 million residents own mobile phones. To that effect, MTN Mobile Money LTD, the MTN Group’s financial services branch, and South African fintech JUMO announced the launch of MoSente, a new mobile credit business, on Thursday, April 21. MTN subscribers will be able to use their mobile phones to acquire real-time credit facilities starting at 10,000 Ugandan shillings (USD 2.84).

MoSente will expand Ugandans’ access to mobile loan services with flexible repayment terms based on the lender’s personal circumstances or income cycle. 

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“Our collaboration with MTN is aimed at assisting entrepreneurs that want quick and easy access to operating money in order to expand their businesses. We provide them with the option to expand their access to long-term credit by managing their loans responsibly and continuously,” Buhle Goslar, President and Chief Executive Officer of JUMO for Africa, stated.

This collaboration with JUMO is part of MTN’s efforts to expand financial inclusion in Uganda, where “huge portions of the population remain unbanked, owing mostly to a lack of cheap and convenient credit.” 

According to the non-profit financial sector development organization Financial Sector Deepening Uganda (FSDU), 22% of Ugandans are financially excluded and 56% rely on informal financial services. Financial inclusion is primarily a concern for adults in metropolitan areas (86 percent), making anytime, anywhere access to mobile banking critical.

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According to Wilfred Wabwire, director of JUMO Uganda, MoSente would enable millions of Ugandans to conveniently borrow and save using their mobile phones. MTN presently accounts for 53% of all mobile users in Uganda, which implies that 15 million people, or almost a third of the country’s population, will have access to loan solutions suited to their business and personal needs. Additionally, the solution should help MTN recruit new clients for both mobile and banking services. This will enable it to bolster its market position in Uganda.

MoSente Uganda

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert. 
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh