Money transfer in Afghanistan

Vodafone Group Plc
11 February 2008

 
10 February 2008

             VODAFONE AND ROSHAN LAUNCH FIRST MOBILE MONEY TRANSFER
                             SERVICE IN AFGHANISTAN
                                        
     M-Paisa brings financial services to un-banked and assists in economic     
                           development in Afghanistan                           

Vodafone, the world's leading international mobile communications group and
Roshan, the leading telecommunications operator in Afghanistan, today announce
the launch of Afghanistan's first mobile money transfer system. The service,
branded M-Paisa, is a mobile technology platform that provides financial
services for those without access to banking and aims to facilitate economic
activity in the region.

The M-Paisa system builds on Vodafone's highly successful M-PESA mobile money
transfer service in Kenya which has seen 1.6 million people register as
customers since its launch in March 2007. At launch the Afghan service will,
however, have a significantly different focus from the Kenyan version. Initially
M-Paisa will act mainly as a vehicle for microfinance institutions' (MFI) loan
disbursements and repayments, with an additional range of business to business
applications such as salary disbursement and airtime distribution. Consumer
person-to-person transactions will also be available from the outset, enabling
those MFI clients and employees who have received their money via M-Paisa to
benefit from the full capabilities of the service.

Roshan and Vodafone are trialing interactive voice recognition services which,
when launched later in the year, will enable greater use of M-Paisa by consumers
who might otherwise be excluded due to high illiteracy rates in Afghanistan.

Roshan's retail outlets will serve as transaction points for the withdrawal or
paying in of money, thus reducing any dependence on financial institutions.
Currently, there are 50 M-Paisa-trained dealers in the cities of Kabul, Mazar,
Jalalabad and Herat; Roshan is looking to expand agent reach nationwide by the
end of 2008. In addition, M-Paisa will be used by major organisations such as
Afghanistan's The First MicroFinanceBank and FINCA - one of the world's largest
microfinance institutions. The First MicroFinanceBank has successfully used the
service to disburse funds and accept loan repayments while FINCA is currently
trialing the product. Other institutions within Afghanistan will soon use
M-Paisa to disburse salaries to their unbanked employees.

Karim Khoja, Chief Executive Officer for Roshan, said:

'The benefits of mobile money transfer are particularly relevant in a developing
market such as Afghanistan, where the large majority of the population does not
have access to traditional banking services. The challenge of providing timely
and reliable payments in a country requiring major infrastructure development is
significant. M-Paisa, with Roshan's mobile network, will provide the backbone to
enable such funds to be transferred reliably which will provide an important
vehicle for economic regeneration.

'The launch of M-Paisa is consistent with Roshan's vision of promoting social
and economic development within Afghanistan, a key focus of Roshan's majority
shareholder, the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), an
international development agency dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and
building economically sound enterprises in the developing world.'

Hatem Dowidar, CEO of Vodafone Partner Markets said:

'The launch of M-Paisa in Afghanistan is an important step forward in Vodafone's
international rollout of its money transfer service and we welcome Roshan to
Vodafone's international community of Partner Markets.

'We have always envisaged that our mobile money transfer would develop
differently in each new market according to the requirements of that country.
Vodafone is therefore particularly pleased that, alongside today's launch with
Roshan and a range of microfinance institutions and companies, our trialing of
an interactive voice recognition system means that financial services can be
brought to people across the world regardless of their social circumstances.'

Muslim ul Haq, Chief Executive Officer of First Microfinance Bank, an
institutional client of M-Paisa, added:

'M-Paisa offers us the ability to extend benefits of microfinance to those who
have not had access to financial resources in the past. M-Paisa makes it more
cost effective and convenient for our clients to access the services we offer.'

                                    - ends -                                    



(c) VODAFONE. Vodafone and M-Paisa are trademarks of Vodafone Group Plc. All
    other names herein may be the trademarks of their respective companies.

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Vodafone Group

Investor Relations                                 Media Relations
Tel: [phone]                           Tel: [phone]


Roshan Telecom Development Company Afghanistan Ltd.

House #13, 
Main Street, 
Wazir Akbar Khan, 
Kabul, Afghanistan
Office: [phone] 
Fax: [phone]
E-mail:  [e-mail]
Or visit our website: www.roshan.af

Jessica Anderson
Hill & Knowlton
212-885-0492
[e-mail]
 

Notes to Editors

About Vodafone

Vodafone is the world's leading international mobile communications group with
over 252 million proportionate customers as at 31 December 2007. Vodafone
currently has equity interests in 25 countries across five continents and a
further 40 partner networks worldwide. For more information, please visit
www.vodafone.com


About Roshan

Roshan (Telecom Development Company Afghanistan Ltd) is Afghanistan's leading
Telecom operator, with coverage in over 216 major cities and towns and over one
million subscribers. Roshan directly employs more than 900 people and provides
indirect employment to more than 20,000 people. Since its inception 4 years ago,
Roshan has invested over US$305 million in Afghanistan and is the country's
single largest investor and tax payer. Roshan is deeply committed to Afghanistan
's reconstruction and socio-economic development. Owned by an international
consortium formed by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), part of
the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), Monaco Telecom International (MTI) and
US-based TeliaSonera, Roshan brings international expertise to Afghanistan and
is committed to the highest standards of network quality and coverage for the
people of Afghanistan.




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