By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Pan-African lender, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) and  one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators, Orange said on Monday they have launched a bank-to-wallet money transfer service linked to Orange Money in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Conakry and Niger.

According to the partnership, customers can use their mobile phones to securely transfer money between accounts at anytime, without the need to go to a distribution point or to have any physical cash. Ecobank customers can also view bank account balance and obtain mini-statements by SMS via the service.

“This partnership, which is already operational in Mali since January 2015 and in Cameroun since August 2015, facilitates money transfers for both Ecobank (www.Ecobank.com) and Orange (www.Orange.com) customers by allowing them to top-up their Orange Money e-wallet from their bank account, and vice versa,” a statement from both organisations said.

By enabling customers to link their bank account with their Orange Money account, this new service in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Conakry and Niger furthers the development of mobile financial services in Africa.

“Since its launch in January 2015 in Mali, this service has been a huge success with close to 110 million euros transferred between Ecobank and Orange Money accounts,” said Thierry Millet, Director of Orange Money, Mobile Payment and Contactless. “This easy-to-use system meets the demands of customers who already have a bank account and who want to use their mobile phones to carry out bank operations, wherever they are in the country and at whatever time of day. Customers will also benefit from the extensive network of thousands of licensed Orange Money vendors in addition to Ecobank’s own high-street branches, considerably increasing the number of withdrawal points. We are happy to deploy this partnership in large scale,” he said.

Patrick Akinwuntan, group executive, Consumer Banking at Ecobank Group said: “We have seen remarkable success in the volume of bank transfers since the beginning of a successful partnership between Ecobank and Orange and we are confident that this service will also have a great success the new countries that are embarking on this service. It is a platform which highlights the importance of on-line banking and mobile today and to our commitment in bringing convenient banking services to everyone in central Africa.”

Launched in the Côte d’Ivoire in December 2008, Orange Money is currently available in 14 countries in Africa and the Middle East. With close to 8 billion euros exchanged over the course of 2015 and over 16 million customers, Orange Money continues its rapid growth.

Orange Money is a service that enables customers to transfer money from their mobile phone to other account-holders across the country and, from certain countries, to users based abroad. Depending on the country, they can also use the service to remotely pay electricity, water or television bills, buy air time for their mobile, or benefit from savings or insurance services.

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Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Friday projected the growth of Mali’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow by 6.6 percent (6.6%) in 2014.

This is coming on the heels of the first visit of Christine Lagarde, the Managing Director (MD) of the Fund to that country.

According to her, the real GDP growth of 6.6% will be supported by the rebound in agricultural output, recovery in the service sector, and the restarting of construction projects.

However, Lagarde affirmed that at the same time, formidable challenges remain. ‘’In addition to the key issue of dealing with reconciliation, Mali needs to ensure macroeconomic stability. Unlocking Mali’s economic potential will require large investments, both in the public and private sector, and a policy agenda with a clear focus on inclusive growth,’’ she said.

Lagarde further affirmed that action is needed on three (3) fronts. First, is to step up public investment which will hinge on the ability to mobilize more revenues and better use of existing resources, including through the gradual reduction of energy subsidies.

‘’This also requires improving governance and public financial management reforms,’’ she said.

Second, is strengthening the business environment and promoting financial sector development necessary to catalyze private sector activity and investment.

Third, she advised the Malian authorities to ensure the benefits of growth are broadly shared, both across sectors and across gender.

“I am deeply impressed by all that I have seen and heard during my visit—especially the determination of all stakeholders to lay the foundations for robust and inclusive growth and win the fight against poverty. The IMF will continue to support these efforts—including through our recently approved loan of CFAF 23 billion ($46 million), the IMF Boss said.

Lagarde praised the Malian authorities who have skillfully managed their economy in difficult circumstances. ‘’The government’s fiscal prudence has helped maintain broad economic stability during the transition. Consequently, the economy is on the mend and donor assistance and business confidence are gradually returning,’’ she said.

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Friday, October 04, 2013 8.28 AM / FDC

Nigeria ranked 120th out of 148 countries on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 2013-2014, representing a five-place drop from 115th position last year. With the ongoing efforts to diversify the economy from oil dependency, the increase in foreign direct investments, and continuous reforms, Nigeria is still ranked low on the GCI.

The GCI was introduced in 2004 as a gauge of how productively a country uses its resources to provide high levels of prosperity to its citizens. The GCI measures the set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine levels of economic prosperity of a country. There are three stages of development: factor-driven, efficiency-driven and innovation-driven. Each stage reflects a growing degree of complexity in the development of the economy. Consider-ing higher income and improvement of labor productivity, the GCI scores are calculated on 12 pillars of competitiveness within each of the three stages. Factor-driven stage: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health, and primary education. Efficiency-driven stage: higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labor market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size. Innovation-driven: business sophistication and innovation.

Nigeria falls in the factor-driven stage as a function of its low level of economic development. This ranking places Nigeria in the poorest pool of countries amongst nations like Bangladesh, Liberia, Mali, Uganda and Yemen. The top 10 economies share characteristics of innovation and strong institutional frameworks and remain dominated by European and a few Asian countries.

The most competitive of the top 10 countries being: Switzerland – for the fifth year, Finland, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Singapore maintains its place as the second-most competitive economy in the world, and Hong Kong and Japan in 7th and 9th place.

Nigeria’s relatively large market size (32nd out of 148 countries) continues to be a positive and important factor considered in its ranking. Nigeria’s large population is said to be “potential for sig-nificant economies of scale and is an important factor for attracting investments”. Nigeria’s efficient labor market and the steady recovery of the financial market since 2009 were also noted as benefiting factors to the countries ranking.

The index identified the following threats to Nigeria’s competitive-ness ranking: weak institutions (129th) with insufficiently protected property rights; high corruption and a poor security situation (142nd); inadequate infrastructure (135th); and poor health-care and primary education (146th). In addition, a low rate of ICT penetration prevents productivity enhancements within the country.

Within the region, Mauritius ranked the most competitive country, moving up 9 positions to 45th place above South Africa (53rd). The country benefits from strong and transparent public institutions (39th) with clear property rights, strong judicial independence, an efficient government (29th), and well developed infrastructure (50th) amongst other factors.

 Despite relatively strong growth in recent years, Nigeria’s economy remains overly reliant on the oil revenues and remains vulnerable to oil price instability. In order to gain long-term competitiveness, Nigeria must place greater emphasis on drivers of productivity and competitiveness and diversify away from the oil sector.

Source: Proshare

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