An event to disseminate the findings from the second wave of the Agent Network Accelerator – Pakistan Country study, hosted by Karandaaz Pakistan took place in Islamabad today. The event was attended by all stakeholders of the mobile money industry including EasyPaisa, JazzCash, UBL Omni etc. and regulators such as the State Bank of Pakistan and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. The survey report is based on over 2,000 mobile money agent interviews that were conducted across Pakistan and highlights findings on the mobile money agent landscape in Pakistan, covering the agent network structure, agent viability, quality of provider support, compliance and risk as well as other important strategic considerations. The survey is designed to provide valuable insights for the digital financial sector in Pakistan and provide recommendations for developing sustainable networks of mobile money agents.
The Agent Network Accelerator project, is managed and conducted by the Helix Institute of Digital Finance and is the largest research initiative in the world on mobile money agent networks, designed to determine their success and scale. Pakistan is among 11 African and Asian countries participating in this research project, selected for their contribution to the development of digital financial services globally. A panel discussion on the increasing need and the ingredients required to develop a supportive mobile money agent network was also part of today’s event.
CEO Karandaaz Pakistan Mr Ali Sarfraz Hussain highlighted the significance of this survey conducted by the Helix. “We are confident that this survey will go a long way in creating sustainable agent networks that will catalyse greater financial inclusion in the country. Karandaaz Pakistan is at the forefront of advancing financial inclusion in Pakistan and agent networks are pivotal to achieve this objective. We hope that this research will be of significant value to all operators as well as policy makers and will exponentially lead to a solid foundation for agent networks across the country connecting more households with the formal financial system” he said.
Karandaaz Pakistan promotes access to finance for small businesses through commercially directed investments and financial inclusion for individuals. Karandaaz Pakistan has financial and institutional support from leading international development finance institutions; principally the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Helix Institute of Digital Finance was launched in 2013 as a collaboration between MicroSave, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), provides cutting-edge data from global research projects, and operational training courses for digital finance (mobile money and agent banking) practitioners from across the developing world.
