Mr. Eli Hini; General Manager for Mobile Financial Services
JOHANNESBURG – In pursuit of its goal to contribute to bridging the financial divide, MTN Group has granted third parties access to its Mobile Money (MoMo) Access Programming Interface (API) platform accessible on https://momodeveloper.mtn.com/.
The open API enables developers and programmers to innovate on the platform and develop products and other innovative solutions to enable a wider range of digital solutions for MTN’s customers.
To further foster innovation and enhance financial inclusion, MTN is now inviting developers and entrepreneurs across 5 countries to participate in the MoMo API Hackathon. The Hackathon, run in partnership with Ericsson (MTN’s Mobile Money technology partner), will give App developers based in Ghana, Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Zambia the opportunity to create innovative financial and transactional applications using the MTN MoMo API platform.
Commenting on the initiative, MTN Group Executive for Mobile Financial Services said, ” Enhancing financial inclusion through the use of digital technology is an essential element in furthering the continent’s economic development, particularly for the previously unbanked. We see this as an opportunity for more tech developers, entrepreneurs and businesses to work with us in creating more opportunities for themselves while contributing to bridging the financial divide.”
The range of solutions to close the financial services gap in the markets in which MTN operate requires partnerships with financial services providers, regulatory authorities, other mobile network operators, merchants, distributors, businesses, technology providers, entrepreneurs and developers. This
Hackathon further illustrates the essence of the company’s ‘We’re Good Together’ initiative which celebrates the role collaboration and partnership play in ensuring that more people enjoy the benefits of a modern connected life.
The company is also embracing technologies that can accelerate the realisation of many United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), the hackathon which aims to enhance MTN’s financial services offering, speaks to the first UN SDG aimed at reducing poverty.
About the challenge
• Developers are required to create a mobile application that uses MTN MoMo APIs, the mobile application needs to target consumers, merchants or businesses.
• The application must be useful and usable in the market where the applicants have registered and can cover use cases beyond payment but must utilise MTN MoMo APIs.
• MTN/Ericsson in each country will select 12 applicants.
• The preselected applicants will have 2 weeks to develop their ideas.
• The preselected applicants will need to make a live demo of their application submission.
Finalists stand the chance to win $2,500 and one team member will win a trip to Ericsson’s Innovation Lab in Sweden.
The hackathon participants can submit their applications from October 21 via this website: https://www.hackerearth.com/challenges/hackathon/momo-hackathon/
About the MTN Group
Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging market operator with a clear vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to our 240 million customers in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East. We are inspired by our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code “MTN”. We are pursuing our BRIGHT strategy with a major focus on growth in data, fintech and digital businesses.
About Ericsson
Ericsson enables communications service providers to capture the full value of connectivity. The company’s portfolio spans Networks, Digital Services, Managed Services, and Emerging Business and is designed to help our customers go digital, increase efficiency and find new revenue streams. Ericsson’s investments in innovation have delivered the benefits of telephony and mobile broadband to billions of people around the world. The Ericsson stock is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and on Nasdaq New York. www.ericsson.com
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