KCCA Launches MTN Mobile Money Payments
For the first time since the launch of MTN Mobile Money in 2009, individuals and companies can now easily effect payment for licenses, fines, taxes and other fees to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) using a secure and trusted platform.
This follows the signing of a partnership between KCCA and MTN Uganda that will enable members of the public and businesses pay for various City Authority taxes and levies. This service guarantees convenience to the customer and a more effective revenue collection mechanism for KCCA.
Commenting on the partnership, MTN’s General Manager Financial Services Phrase Lubega said,“Prior to the launch the KCCA solution, overall figures indicated that more than 85 percent of mobile bill payment collections in Uganda are made through the MTN Mobile Money platform.”
“Continuing to integrate mobile money into mainstream financial services will therefore further expand the digital financial ecosystem which in turn will facilitate further delivery of financial inclusion for all persons across Uganda,” he added.
Commenting on this partnership, KCCA’s Executive Director Jennifer Musisi said; “Today’s event presents a historic moment for both KCCA and MTN as it seeks to broaden the existing Revenue collection channels by bringing on board mobile money services to facilitate KCCA fees collection.”
This development means MTN Mobile Money subscribers can now simply utilize the Mobile Money menu, via *165#, to effect their payments to KCCA.
How the Service Works
- Dial *165#
- Select Option 9 (Fees and Taxes) on the second screen
- Select Option 2 (KCCA)
- You will be asked to enter the Payment Reference Number which you will have obtained from KCCA based on the nature of your payment.
- Enter Amount (that you wish to pay)
- Enter Mobile Money PIN
The customer will receive a confirmation message after the transaction has been completed.
Read MoreTop African Countries with Most startup Investments
Research by startup funding platform VC4Africa reveals that African countries have diverse startup scenes, with investments varying widely across the continent.
According to the research South Africa has the highest average startup investment amount, Nigeria has the highest number of startup investments, and Kenya has the highest startup investments in total.
VC4Africa (Venture Capital for Africa) is an online platform for entrepreneurs and investors in Africa with a community of over 20,000 members in 159 countries, including 600 investors.
Co-founder Ben White shared these and other insights at the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Milan, the annual gathering of startup champions, with attendees from over 150 countries, saying that it was the time for investors to start paying to the continent.
“The research shows there are a growing number of businesses that are successfully growing their operations over time and adding much needed jobs to the African marketplace. This is a key message to investors. Now is the time to get involved in this space”, he says.
“It is known that South Africa’s startup scene includes more mature ventures and explains the bigger ticket sizes”
VC4Africa surveyed its community of entrepreneurs and investors, tracking the progress across Africa’s startup funding scenes, the results of which are compiled in the Venture Finance in Africa report.
According to the website, VC4Africa, was able to track 104 investments in startups across Africa listed on its platform, with a total amount of USD 27 million.
Investment amounts
Out of the 104 tracked investments, most were in Nigeria (24), followed by Kenya (19), Tanzania (12), South Africa (11), Ghana (10), Uganda (10), Cameroon (9) and Egypt (9).
“Countries like Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Ghana are often named as examples of startup hotspots in Africa. Nigeria, coming out as the continent’s top startup investment destination, recently got more and more attention, for example with new incubators opening and the two most recent DEMO Africa events”, the report says.
On average, of the tracked startup investments in the eight countries mentioned above, the research showed that the largest average investment in South Africa ($250K), followed by Kenya (slightly lower, rounded off $250K as well). Behind this are Uganda ($152K), and – at a distance – Tanzania ($66K), Ghana ($65K), Nigeria ($57K), Egypt ($42K), and Cameroon ($28K).
“It is known that South Africa’s startup scene includes more mature ventures and explains the bigger ticket sizes” the report details.
Some African startups that have raised funding include TopCheck, Tugende, IroFit, Ubongo, Soko, Karibu Solar, Njorku, Kiro’o Games and many others.
Think innovations such as a touch sticker, a platform for social gaming, mobile payment startups, recycling waste for street lamps, edu tech ventures, messaging and other apps, and more.
According to the report, “each venture is scalable, makes smart use of technology, or is disruptive in their application of a business model”.
Read MoreUNBS Rolls out e-verification Service to Combat Counterfeit Products
Consumers will soon be able to electronically verify whether the products they are about to buy are genuine, of good and standardised quality or not.This follows a move by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) to roll out a phone powered traceability and e-verification service called e-tag to combat the prevalence of counterfeit products on the Ugandan market.
Using this product, customers will be able to detect forgeries of labels by sending the digits of the labels to code 141. The code will be redirected to the centralised computer system where it will be verified.This follows the successful pilot launch where the body partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture to kick-start the e-verification of goods in the agriculture sector.
Dr Ben Manyindo, the executive director UNBS, said the e-tag will create a robust channel for not only quality verification and auditing, but also verifying the source of commodities plus their conformance with the acceptable quality standards under the Ugandan law. “We have a challenge in the market and we have been with this challenge for a longtime,” he said at Uganda Manufacturers’ Association in Kampala last week. He added: “There has been a challenge of substandard and counterfeit goods in the market for so long,” he said.
However, manufacturers have expressed worry that the additional charge for the e-tag will lead to an increase in the cost of the product.“We shall have to transfer the costs to the end product,” said Regina Nakayenga, a wine manufacturer.
But Dr Manyindo said the extra cost will be only one per cent of the unit cost of the products. He also said the new software will benefit manufacturers, distributors and consumers of fast moving consumer goods and other commodities to access critical information about the individual commodities at the point of purchase.
He revealed that 1.1 million tags have been sold especially to the agriculture sector alone. The system is being replicated in other sectors as well.
Empowering consumers
The e-verification service aims to empower all Ugandan commodity consumers and generate more than Shs1 billion in aggregated value per year thus supporting the Ugandan government in partnership with the manufacturing industry.
Read More