Vodacom Tanzania boss praises M-Pesa’s work in the country

Vodacom Tanzania’s Managing Director Rene Meza said that he was proud of the role that M-Pesa has played in the furthering of the financial inclusion agenda in the country.

Mr. Meza, was speaking in Dar es Salaam where he pointed out how M-pesa has benefited quite a number of Tanzanian’s.

“We have to date through M-Pesa, allowed over 6 million Tanzanians who continue to choose it as their preferred option for payment and financial services, to be active players in the country’s economy,” he said.

M-Pesa is supported by an over 85,000-strong wakala network that spans the whole country and is integrated with 26 banks.

Over 500 organizations have integrated their payment systems with M-Pesa for collection, disbursement and distributor services.

Mr. Rene Meza, went on to talk about other topics: on the uptake of technology in the market today, Meza says his company continues to encourage more Tanzanians to join the technology revolution through allowing its customers to access the internet via a variety of communication packages that are best suited to their lifestyles.

With regards to his company’s expectations of the 2015 Government Budget, the managing director appealed to the government not to increase taxes on the telecommunications sector. For, Tanzanians currently pay a whopping 38% as tax (Excise and VAT combined) on airtime – this is one of the highest rates in Africa.

Access to communication services is both a basic right and infrastructure we therefore, need to ensure that it is readily available and affordable for all Tanzanias, he says.