HiPipo Money

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• Last of three KPI set by the Governments of Kenya and Uganda is achieved
• Improved reliability and performance bring renewed confidence in the Kenya – Uganda railway
• Speed restrictions lifted on most sections result in reduced transit times

RVR the concessionaire for the Kenya Uganda Railway has achieved the 1737 (in Kenya) and 250 (in Uganda) MM. Net Ton per Kilometer NTK targets set by the Governments of Kenya and Uganda under the revised terms agreed upon in the first quarter of 2014 that gave the company 9 months to increase its freight volume numbers.

Attaining the targets means the company has reached the last of three Key Performance Indicators that were set under the amended concession agreement signed by RVR and the two Governments when the new shareholders of RVR came on board in 2011. The other indicators included clearing of outstanding concession fees accumulated by the previous management, making timely payments of the current concession fees and making investments into the railway of at least 40 million dollars in the first five years in infrastructure and rolling stock. (This figure was achieved in the first 9 months under the new shareholders and now stands at over 150 million dollars).

Making the announcement in a press statement today the GCEO of RVR Mr. Carlos Andrade said “achieving this milestone is a very important because it proves the railway is tangibly turning around as a result of investments made by the shareholders. When they took over the railway concession 4 years ago no significant investments had been made in the railway in almost 25 years, since then RVR has replaced over 140 of Km of tracks, acquired 34 locomotives to increase haulage capacity and introduced automated systems that have improved commercial processes. This has resulted in improved reliability and performance which have brought renewed confidence in the Kenya Uganda railway as a viable means of transportation this is the prime reason why our freight figures have increased”.

Roofings , Uganda Baati, Mukwano, Shell (Vivo energy), Mogas and Hass petroleum are just a few of the multinational companies who have signed major deals with RVR and are now moving a significant amount of their heavy freight via rail helping to reduce pressure on East Africa’s already overburdened road infrastructure.

Talking about some of the other achievements registered in addition to the improved freight figures Mr. Andrade noted that that RVR has reduced the areas of railway track under temporary speed restrictions to only 25% of the track in Kenya as of the 31^st January 2015 which was below the 26% target set by the regulator meant to be achieved by June 30^th 2015. “Our reliability  has gone up and so have our average speeds the transit time between Mombasa and Kampala is now only 4 days which down from 12 four years ago when we took over this is a notable improvement” he added “if bureaucratic processes were reduced we are confident we can bring this down to just two days”.

Commending RVR upon receiving news about the improved NTK figures the acting Managing Director of Uganda Railway Corporation Eng. Charles Kateeba congratulated RVR for reaching the target and wished them the best for the future.

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Encouraging results achieved over the past year, including investments at key ports have resulted in reduced cargo transit times on East Africa’s main transport corridors, and accelerated implementation of the EAC’s Single Customs Territory. Harmonisation of product standards has expanded the EAC trade basket says TMEA Annual Report.

Investments in trade infrastructure as well as the dismantling of bureaucratic and procedural barriers to economic integration, is positioning the EAC region as the destination of choice for doing business, TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) said today as they launched their annual report covering the period 2013/2014.

TMEA further stated that its partnership with the East African Governments has resulted to great progress in delivering 7 key One Stop Border Posts (OSBP) across East Africa this year to increase physical access to markets for both formal and informal traders. Pilot operations at the Kobero/Kabanga between Tanzania and Burundi borders already indicate a two day reduction in transit times at Kabanga for cargo trucks, as well as reduction in tedious formalities for traders which have had adverse impact on time and costs of business in the past.

This announcement was made during the presentation of the organization’s annual report for 2014, which was held at The Sheraton Hotel in Kampala, Uganda. The event was officiated by Uganda’s Minister of Works and Transport Hon. John Byabagambi.

In his remarks, Hon. Byabagambi expressed appreciation of TMEA work in East Africa;

“We are very pleased with our partnership with TMEA who have supported some of the ministry’s trade programs including construction of Ntungamo-Mirama Hills Road between Uganda and Rwanda which is expected to facilitate improved access to goods and passenger transport services and reduce transport costs along the Kampala-Kigali route. TMEA is also supporting construction of key One Stop Border Posts between Uganda and her neighbours Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania.”

The Annual Report details TMEA’s vision of enhancing interconnectedness in the region through trade by highlighting some of the successful projects they have supported. Notable among these is the recent signing of the Mombasa Port Community Charter, witnessed by Kenya’s President, H.E Uhuru Kenyatta, by 25 government and private sector agencies who committed to support initiatives that will increase  efficiency at the Mombasa Port and the Northern corridor.

Giving his remarks, TMEA Chief Executive Officer Frank Matsaert reported that some of the key results included:  a reduction of average time to clear goods at Mombasa port and transport them to Kampala to 4 days, reduction in the number of customs declarations by 90% leading to an increase in trade volumes, an example of fuel imports into Uganda which have increased from 32.1million litres to 108 million litres.

He added, “The results presented in this Annual Report point to an ever improving trade environment which is expected to spur investments and ultimately benefit the citizens of East Africa. TMEA is playing an important role as a catalyst in mobilizing around US$600 million at Dar es Salaam Port to improve its performance through better infrastructure and port operations. Our partnerships at both Mombasa and Dar ports involve an innovative approach mixing both hardware and software solutions.”

More importantly, TMEA has made strides to support informal trade across borders, which is often the lifeline of most rural livelihoods. Since these traders do not use available formal systems and structures for their transactions, it is difficult for regional trade policy initiatives to have any significant impact on their lives. There is therefore a continued effort to ensure these economically disadvantaged populations have access to markets. One of the ways in which TMEA has done this is by facilitating the formation of cooperatives for informal women traders which have enabled them educate their members, access finance as a group, and engage formally with border officials.

Permanent Secretary for the Uganda Ministry of East African Community Affairs, Edith Mwanje reiterated,

“ I am glad that TMEA has focused on women informal traders who are responsible for up to 60% of all intra-East African trade.  Through initiatives such as The East Africa initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI), TMEA has intervened to provide informal women traders increased access to valuable information and to nurture women associations and lobby groups to advocate for a better trading environment for them”.

The Annual Report indicates the challenges that the organization faced in the last year especially from external factors such as increased threat of violence and terrorism.  However they hope to see a 10 % increase in the total value of exports from the EAC region and a 25% increase in intra-regional trade exports when compared to total exports in the region by 2016.

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• Ferry is the second delivery as per KIS agreement with the government
• Crossings will be free of charge
• New ferry to increase crossing times

Kalangala Infrastructure Services Ltd (KIS) the company that Government of Uganda contracted to develop infrastructure projects on Bugala Island through a PPP has officially commissioned the seconds ferry the MV Ssese to operate the route between Bukakata and Luku on Bugala Island.

The new ferry is the second delivery by KIS as stipulated in an agreement with the government of Uganda to replace Bukakata ferry with two new modern ferries to ease and improve transport between mainland and the Island.

While addressing the congregation at the event, Mr. John Opiro the Managing Director KIS said, “commissioning of the new ferry is yet another milestone KIS has achieved since it signed an agreement with the government of Uganda to develop modern infrastructure and transport services in Kalangala. KIS has shown its capability to deliver on its promise to provide two ferries for Bugala Island to uplift infrastructure which will pave way for development, so far evident since the arrival of the first ferry.  We expect that with the MV Ssese’s arrival, there will be a surge in the rate of development.”

He continued, “KIS was contracted by the government to work on four components which include marine services, water supply which has been provided in the areas of Kasekulo, Mulabana, a 66km road rehabilitation from the landing site in Luku through the town council at Mulabana and power now supplied for 24 hours throughout kalangala. We have made significant progress in all projects and will soon launch them officially. These projects are expected to change the face of Kalangala economically by encouraging tourists and investors due to improved infrastructure.”  

While officiating the event, the Minister for Works and Transport, Hon. John Byabagambi commended KIS for their progress in bringing the project to life. He said, “Am happy to see that KIS has progressed rapidly in this project. This project has been possible through a PPP, a highly effective initiative in effecting fast development. Normally they are characterized by an agreement between the government and the investor. In this case the investor injects money into the projects while the public pays for the services.”

John noted, “The new ferry operations will not be any different from the MV Pearl. Crossing from island to main land in just 20 minutes, the services will be free of charge for the habitats, but catered for by the government. It has the capacity to move 180 people and 20 vehicles for each trip it makes.  

“The two ferries will operate 16 times a day crossing each other, thus lessening the burden of traffic for the people crossing between Bugala Island   and Bukakata.” John concluded.

The Ferry service is part of a larger PPP infrastructure project KIS and the Government set out to develop on Bugala Island. KIS has also constructed a solar thermal Hybrid power Station, upgraded the main island road to a class B gravel road and built safe drinking water system for the Islands inhabitants.  

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The public have applauded MTN Uganda, Jubilee Insurance and AON for introducing the Life Care Insurance policy which they say has come in handy to help in the difficult situation when they lose their loved ones.

sharing at a media briefing session at MTN Service Center on Kyagwe Road, Ashabahebwa Musa who is one of the beneficiaries of the policy from western Uganda said he urged his late mother to take up the policy as a joke but it turned out like it was the hand of God that compelled him to because the payout came at a time when he did not have money on him to meet the funeral expenses when his mother unfortunately passed on recently.

“A few years ago I did not know what insurance is all about. No one explained to me the benefits and so I paid no particular attention to it. Fortunately MTN has made it simple for me and my people to take up an insurance policy and today I stand before you as a beneficiary”, Ashabahebwa said.

Another beneficiary, Kanyana Samuel who recently travelled all the way from Mbale to MTN towers, paid tribute for the timely payout when he lost his wife. Kanyana said it was his late wife who also convinced him to take up the policy with his risky and low paying job as a Boda boda rider in mind. Unfortunately his wife passed on before him during delivery and Kanyana promptly received a payout of Ushs 5 million to meet the burial expenses.

Speaking at the Media briefing session, MTN Uganda Senior Manager for Mobile Money Andrew Rugamba said ‘MTN LifeCare’ is the most affordable life insurance ever launched in Uganda. Unlike others, this insurance policy is affordable and has been uniquely designed to be easily accessed on the phone by MTN customers using Mobile Money. By doing so, MTN Uganda continues to lead innovation by becoming the first company in Uganda to offer affordable life insurance services paid through Mobile Money in partnership with AON Uganda & Jubilee Insurance.

Last year, MTN Uganda in partnership with AON and Jubilee Insurance launched “MTN Life Care”, a life insurance policy, which MTN customers can subscribe to through MTN Mobile Money services.  In the policy, Ugandans can buy MTN LifeCare for UShs 8,500/- to 24,500/- per year which will provide death benefits of UShs 1,000,000 to UShs 5,000,000 respectively.

Explaining the registration procedure, Rugamba said that a customer can simply dial *221# to get insured. They currently offer three cover options each with   different pay out values upon death of the insured MTN customer. According to Bodibe.

“MTN LifeCare customers are entitled to choose one beneficiary per package. This beneficiary can be changed at any time during the cover period. However, one can only take out one insurance policy per year. For one to qualify as a beneficiary they must be an MTN customer. Non-registered MTN Mobile Money customers can also register for ‘MTN LifeCare’, and their loved ones can pay on their behalf via Mobile Money.” said Rugamba.

On his part, the AON Director Large Clients/Business Development, Jeremy Kirkland said the insurance cover provides trusted security that is designed to meet the real needs of Ugandans at a price they can afford. Complicated processes like medical checkups or application forms for one to register for this insurance policy, subscribers simply enroll via their phone and the cover is immediately effective upon payment of the premium by the Mobile Money customer. The premium is a one off lump sum payment which covers 12 months upon which the customer can choose to renew it.

Patrick Kimathi, Manager Life and Bank Assurance at Jubilee Insurance, Uganda’s largest Insurer said “The claims process is very simple. Cash payout upon death of the insured is processed via Mobile Money within 48 hours upon receipt of the complete claim documents by Jubilee Insurance. Claim forms are available in all MTN Service Centres or Dealer outlets. The forms can be downloaded from the Jubilee website www.jubileeinsurance.com or MTN website www.mtn.co.ug/mobilemoney. Filled claim forms can either be delivered physically to the Jubilee Insurance head office or emailed directly to life@jubileeuganda.com

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The 2015 edition of MTN Women in Business Awards have seen Mrs. Barbara Ofwono, the proprietor of Victorious Schools scoop the overall Award of MTN Women in Business SME CEO of the year, applause for outstanding use of MTN Business’s overall service /prepositions to grow her business from one small outfit to the current chain of Victorius schools.

Other winners, who walked away with accolades at a dinner held at Serena Hotel Saturday night, were Lindsay Handler, the owner of Fenix International who took the MTN Women in Business Award for Excellence in Financial Services Award. The award recognizes the Company’s outstanding use of MTN’s Financial services (Mobile Money) proposition to grow her business to greater heights.

The third Award went to Kembambazi Sabiiti the proprietor of Amadeus Travel Company in the Category of MTN Business Excellence in ICT.  Amadeus Travel Company was recognized for its outstanding use of MTN Business ICT proposition to grow her business to greater heights.

The winners received a work trip to South Africa to meet the biggest SME and learn from them, MTN office Wi-Fi for six months, $10,000 from the Y’ello Rose program, CUG activation and free subscription for six months, five MTN Fixed lines ,and one year hosting at Mutundwe data center from MTN Uganda, they also received advertising space of up to 20million for three months on NTV, free business advisory services from Uganda Development Bank and free strategic plan review for sustainable growth and 50% discount on adverts in Summit Business Magazine.

MTN Uganda has been at the forefront of supporting Business communities in Uganda particularly through its MTN Business training programs for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) aimed at providing them with the right expertise to not only start up new business ventures but to also grow and sustain their current business to ensure optimum output and profitability. This program has over the years extended to Women in Business (WiB) as well.

Addressing the guests that comprised of over 300 professional and Women in Business at the dinner, MTN Uganda CEO Brian Gouldie encouraged Women in Business to take advantage of the MTN’s wide range of digital products, as well as its robust network coverage which MTN has invested in to support its customers’ personal and business needs.

“This consistent investment has created the best customer experience in the sector, reflected in the increased use of MTN’s products, especially data services as well as growth of the customer base to well over 10.4 million subscribers. MTN Uganda continues to focus on Customer Experience, Superior Quality and its Employer of Choice proposition with improved long-term Shareholder returns” Gouldie said.

Gouldie announced the launch of a new program initiated by MTN, called “Y’ello Rose” which he referred to as a vessel to connect influential woman in Uganda to the rest of the Ugandan Women by giving them the platform to inspire, coach and make a life-long difference.

According to Gouldie, every year in March, the MTN “Y’ello Rose” Committee will choose 15 women who will each be awarded with $10,000 & be challenged to use as investment to make a social difference in any way that they see fit in 12 months from receiving the Award.

The CEO  said since MTN embarked on the SME training program, over 1000 SMEs across the region have been empowered and most of the time, the program have had an estimated 40% turn up from Women (participants). He added that MTN’s vision for 2015 is to add value in the lives of its customers through its segmented offerings, a task MTN is committed to continue implementing alongside many other programs.

Gouldie added: “Over the years we have endeavored to lead the way as a catalyst of change in the lives of our customers.  The awards tonight, are testimony to the fact that MTN Uganda is championing the upliftment and empowerment of Women using technology. We will continue to demonstrate our commitment to making positive and lasting change in the lives of women.

The dinner was also spiced up by distinguished women and men who have excelled in different rights. Agnes Konde, Managing Director NTV Uganda, Partricia Adongo Ojangole, Managing Director Uganda Development Bank, Mustapha B Mugisa, President, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Uganda Chapter, Dr. Maggie Kigozi, President, Business and professional Women (BPW) Kampala, Uganda and Joseph Baliddawa, President, Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda were among the distinguished women also helped us select women who have excelled in innovating and using technology to enable success in SME since thus year’s theme for the awards is “Innovation and technology enabling success in SME”

Speaking at the event, the Guest of Honour Hon. Maria Kiwanuka applauded MTN for creating a platform through its wide product range, as well as its services and coverage, which has given women the opportunity to rise and shine in business as well as in the corporate world adding that the dinner and the awards served as demonstration that MTN Uganda acknowledges the importance of Ugandan women in both the social and economic development of the country.
 

Kiwanuka applauded the business sector and particularly the women entrepreneurs for driving the growth of the economy. She highlighted the fact that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have over the years, continued to support the phenomenal growth of business in Uganda and have therefore formed the backbone of Uganda’s economic growth with over 60% of revenue being generated by medium sized companies.

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(13th- 19th March, 2015; issue no. 359)

MTN Uganda wishes to address the inaccurate and deliberately false story entitled “Inside MTN Mobile Money Saga” published in “The Independent” Magazine of 13^th-19^th March, 2015- issue 359. This story is not only misleading, but is also a breach of the sub judice rule as this matter is the subject of criminal proceedings in the case of Uganda vs. Richard Mwami and others at the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court.

The article alleges that MTN created fictitious money to the value of 21 billion on its Mobile Money platform, and transferred it to its MTN Mobile Money shops. The publication further alleges that MTN created an entity called MTN Corporate Liquidity Fund as a super-agent for transactions which were a form of illegal overdrawing of its e-accounts.

We wish to clarify that Mobile money platforms do not generate money and to that extent no fake money can be created. All Mobile money platforms generate “electronic value” that corresponds to the value of a customer’s deposit with an Operator’ agent. For instance if a customer deposits physical cash of 10,000/= this amount is collected by the agent and deposited in the Bank on an escrow account. The system then credits his mobile money account with 10,000/=  The total sums of money deposited in the escrow account must always correspond to the total sums of money on the Mobile money platform The electronic value created is similar to prepaid airtime and prepaid electricity or water units to mention but a few.

The fraud that is the subject of the above prosecution occurred in 2011.  No MTN Mobile Money customer lost money as MTN Uganda automatically tops up any shortfall between the Escrow account held by the Bank and the transaction value on the Mobile Money platform. Bank regulations require that if there is any short fall, the Operator has to use its own funds to immediately top up, on reconciliation of the escrow account held by the bank.

MTN Mobile Money which was launched in March 2009 and currently has 7 million users with over 3.2 million active users. MTN Mobile Money has directly created 39,000 new businesses operated by Ugandans (the Agent network), employing over 160,000 people. To date, more than 85% of the mobile bill payment collections in Uganda are made through the MTN Mobile Money platform which has led to a significant increase in financial inclusion of the unbanked public.

It remains the fastest growing product in Uganda growing at an average of 39% bringing more businesses and people into the formal economy. The service has been transformative in easing commerce, money transfers, utility bill payments and merchant transactions.

Mobile Money has become a global product used in all the 22 countries in which MTN operates and has been transformative in Africa especially in the East African region by enhancing financial inclusion and lowering the cost of doing business especially for bulk collections and distribution of cash. Its regulation is currently done through mandatory partnerships with banks that are regulated by the Bank of Uganda. It is therefore not true that the service is not regulated.

MTN Uganda is part of the MTN Group which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and as such it operates with an emphasis on regulatory compliance and international best practice. MTN is committed to a policy of zero tolerance for fraud and corruption.

MTN Uganda has over the years been recognized as the leading investor in Uganda, the Most Respected Company, the largest tax payer, the Employer of Choice and a recognized leader in corporate social responsibility.