MobileMoneyAfrica hosts RemitAfrica conference in November

MobileMoneyAfrica will on November 4-5 host the RemitAfrica conference in Lagos, the economic capital of Nigeria and the largest remittance nation in Africa.

Emmanuel Okoegwale, Principal Associate, MobileMoneyAfrica, organisers of the event says that remittance providers and stakeholders such as money transfer operators, financial services providers, financial technology providers, vendors, agent network operators, mobile financial services providers, regulators and stakeholders from the supply and demand side of the remittance industry will be meeting at the REMITAFRICA2015.

Okoegwale cites a recent report by the World Bank,the growth of remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to slow to 0.9 percent in 2015, amounting to $33 billion. Globally, it is expected to reach $586 billion in 2015, though at a slower growth rate of 0.4% due to economic conditions and is expected to accelerate again to reach an estimated $636 billion in 2017.

According to him, Africa has made great strides in mobile technology adoption and penetration; however, despite the pervasive coverage of such mobile networks across Africa, technological innovation has yet to drive down costs in remittance markets.

The barriers to cost-reduction, challenges and opportunities in the African remittance market, improving efficiency at the last mile, the role of non-bank financial institutions and the emergence of digital remittances such as mobile money, online transfers and crypto-currencies in lowering remittance cost for Africans are some of the subject matter areas to be considered at the conference, the organisers say.

First round of speakers from leading providers such as TransferTo, Xpressmoney, sendcashglobal, Ecobank, Ericsson, cash4africa, moneygram, Mahindracomviva, inpay and other industry leaders have been confirmed for the event, according to the organisers.