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Nqobile Bhebhe, [email protected]
ECONET Wireless Zimbabwe, the country’s leading mobile network operator, reported steady growth in its mobile money business for the third quarter ending November 30, fuelled by a 55 percent rise in active subscribers and a 79 percent increase in wallet funding.
The firm believes there are significant growth opportunities in digital payments, driven by the increasing adoption of mobile wallets.
In its latest trading update, Econet attributed the growth in mobile money volumes and transactions to ongoing improvements in financial inclusion.
“This business continues to actively onboard more payment partners in alignment with the strategy to establish a universal payment platform that prioritises convenience and value for customer,” said Econet
Wireless Zimbabwe group company secretary Tatenda Ngowe.
“The growth in mobile money volumes and transactions reflects gains we continue to make towards improved financial inclusion. In the period under review, the group successfully completed upgrading the core network which marks a pivotal milestone of the digital service provider (DSP) journey.”
It notes that the critical enhancement and modernisation effort has significantly improved the central part of the network, integrating systems such as charging, billing, and application servers in addition to enabling advanced digital and AI features.
“The modernised network enables advanced digital use cases such as high-quality voice calls over 4G/LTE network (VoLTE). Smart4Home, our new fixed wireless product is being targeted at high-volume data users in response to evolving and growing data use needs,” said Econet.
Under the base station modernisation, 16 new sites and the upgrading of 33 radio access sites and 270 microwave access links were done. This has resulted in improved quality of service and speed.
“An additional 20, 5G sites were commissioned nationwide, demonstrating our commitment to providing a network of international quality.”
Turning to the life insurance business, EcoSure, recorded a 51 percent growth in transaction volumes compared to the same period last year as it continues to offer digital bundled products for a wider customer reach.
Moovah, the short-term insurance business continued to grow its portfolio driven largely by new business acquisitions and endorsements which translated to a 25 percent increase in motor and non-motor insurance customers.
The group recorded a 69 percent local currency growth in revenue relative to the comparative period largely anchored by a 42 percent increase in revenue for the mobile network operations and the acquisition of the financial technology (FinTech) businesses.
Voice and data usage increased by 20 percent and 36 percent respectively with demand for data forecast to remain firm and on an upward trajectory.
Econet said the envisaged growth in mobile broadband and digital services requires the business to continue modernising the network infrastructure to remain agile in its service offering and deliver the expected quality of service.
Capital expenditure on a year-to-date basis closed the quarter at 18 percent of revenue and was largely incurred on modernising the network to support the growth in usage and improve service quality.
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