Vodacom m-pesa: ‘Mobilising’ Cash in a Challenging Market

Description

Vodacom m-pesa: ‘Mobilising’ Cash in a Challenging Market: Abstract

Vodacom m-pesa: ‘Mobilising’ Cash in a Challenging Market is case study by Rabelani Dagada and Stephanie Townsend.

In March 2012, Mark Taylor, managing executive for Online and Vodacom m-pesa, reflected on the 19 months since the launch in South Africa of m-pesa, Vodacom’s mobile payment platform. M-pesa was a partnership between the South African mobile telecommunications company, the Vodacom Group, and the Nedbank Group Limited. In a country with high cellphone penetration and more than 15 million unbanked South Africans, the slower-than-expected uptake was surprising. Taylor was nonetheless convinced that m-pesa had potential – but for it to succeed, he had to find ways to overcome the challenges of making mobile money work in a country like South Africa.

Teaching objectives

This case was developed to enable students to discuss and understand principles for successful mobile commerce strategy, specifically as it relates to mobile banking in the South African context.