Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Ghana, a division of the multinational MTN telecommunications group of South Africa, recently partnered with Hollard Insurance, a private insurance provider based in South Africa; Mobile Financial Services (MFS) Africa, a mobile payments organization based in South Africa; and MicroEnsure, a UK-based insurance intermediary owned by US-based nonprofit Opportunity International, to pilot a life insurance product called mi-Life [1] [2]. Policyholders will be able to submit claims, queries and premium payments using their mobile phones. Mr Jeremy Leach, Head of Microinsurance for the Hollard Insurance Group, said that the partnership will “transform insurance in the emerging markets – making it relevant for the majority of people whom insurers have ignored.” No rollout date or pricing details have so far been announced.
By Jacqueline Foelster, Research Associate
About Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Group: Established in South Africa in 1994, MTN is a multinational telecommunications group that provides cellular telephone service. As of December 2009, MTN provides its services to approximately 116 million subscribers in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East. At the same time, MTN reported in its financial statements total assets of ZAR 156 billion (USD 22.5 billion) and a return on assets of 19.4 percent.
About Hollard Insurance (Hollard): Established in South Africa in 1980, Hollard is a privately owned insurance group that offers a range of insurance policies that include life, funeral and motor insurance. In 2010, Hollard reported in its financial statements total assets of ZAR 20.7 billion (USD 2.98 billion) and approximately 6 million policyholders.
About MicroEnsure: MicroEnsure was founded in 2005 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Opportunity International, a global nonprofit microfinance network created in 1974. It was known as the Micro Insurance Agency until 2008. As an insurance intermediary, it provides a range of products including health, life, property and weather index-based insurance to over 3.5 million poor clients across six countries: Ghana, India, the Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. In 2008, MicroEnsure received a USD 24.2 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help expand its insurance products to poor people in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
About Mobile Financial Services (MFS) Africa: MFS Africa is a mobile payments organization based in South Africa. It offers a range of products and services that allow online payments, international money transfer and microfinance transactions via mobile phones.
Sources and additional resources
[1] MTN Group Press Release, “MTN and Hollard Insurance Group pilot mobile money insurance in Ghana, the world’s first Mobile Money m-insurance service”, http://www.mtn.com/media/overviewdetail.aspx?pk=441
[2] Mobile Money for the Unbanked Blog, “mi-Life, Mobile Microinsurance in Ghana”, http://mmublog.org/blog/mi-life-mobile-microinsurance-in-ghana/
MicroCapital.org Brief, January 2, 2011, “Microfinance Opportunities (MFO), MasterCard Foundation Announce Branchless Banking Partnership with MTN Ghana, Mobile Transactions of Zambia”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microfinance-opportunities-mfo-mastercard-foundation-announce-branchless-banking-partnership-with-mtn-ghana-mobile-transactions-of-zambia/
MicroCapital.org, January 15, 2010, “Who’s Who in Microfinance: MicroEnsure,” https://www.microcapital.org/who%E2%80%99s-who-in-microfinance-microensure/
MicroCapital Universe Profile: MicroEnsure, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=MicroEnsure
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/
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