A mobile phone airtime card vendor on the outskirts of Juba. In the absence of money transfer services, airtime has often been used as a form of currency in South Sudan. PHOTO | MORGAN MBABAZI | NMG
In a country without a well-developed financial infrastructure—where mobile phone airtime has often been used as some form of currency—the launch of mobile money services by Zain has come as a huge blessing for millions of South Sudanese.
Zain launched the first mobile money service in the country after persistent reports made a case for it, noting that it is the most plausible way to bridge financial inclusion gaps. A negligible number of the country’s population own bank accounts.
