Owerri Gets ‘Relief’ With The Launch Of MoMo Agent In Imo State

Mr. Innocent Entonu, General Manager, Eastern Regional Operations, MTN Nigeria, delivering the welcome address.

Underbanked and unbanked residents in Owerri got relief on Wednesday, November 6, as the Y’ello Digital Financial Services (YDFS) Limited, an MTN Nigeria subsidiary, launched its financial services product, the MoMo Agent, at the Relief Market, Owerri, Imo State.

Other markets in the State where the launch also took place include, World Bank Market and Naze Cluster Market on November 7 and November 8, 2019, respectively.

Coming on the heels of various regional launch and sensitisation events that has seen both YDFS and MTN Nigeria officials visit markets in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Kano, the Owerri event comes over a month after the official launch in Abuja on August 29, 2019.

A pioneering initiative in the Telecoms sector by Nigeria’s leading operator, the MoMo Agent service aims to support the Central Bank of Nigeria’s drive for financial inclusion, by providing safe and accessible money transfer to millions of Nigeria’s unbanked.

Speaking during the MoMo Agent launch and sensitisation event at the Relief Market, Innocent Entonu, General Manager, Eastern Regional Operations, MTN Nigeria, underscoring the uniqueness of the mobile money service to the CBN financial inclusion drive, said the reception of the MoMo Agent by the residents of Imo State has been impressive.

“As you’re aware, the MoMo Agent is already being utilised by the people of Imo, and so this launch and sensitisation event is to officially introduce the product and also inform the larger Imo populace of our presence. And like we’ve done in other regions across the country, our goal remains to partner the CBN to increase the apex bank’s financial inclusion drive.”

Also speaking on the reception of the MoMo Agent by the people across the State, Daniel Orobiyi, Activation Manager, Mobile Financial Services, Y’ello Digital Financial Services Limited, said there were over a thousand registered MoMo Agents and counting in the State.

Same as happened in the other States, in Owerri, traders were signed up as MoMo Agents as customers carried out on-the-spot transactions and were treated to impressive musical performance and gifted several household items via a raffle draw.

The idea behind the regional launch and sensitisation event is part of the YDFS’ mission to bring financial services within easy reach of every bankable Nigerian. With the MoMo Agent service complementing existing banking services via extending access to simple money transfer services and other financial services nationwide, the subsidiary plans to enroll about 500,000 Agents across Nigeria including the Federal Capital Territory.