Splash Mobile Payments Ltd
MIGA has issued a guarantee of $1 million to the Sierra Investment Fund LLC and the ManoCap Soros Fund LLC covering their investment in Splash Mobile Money Ltd., a greenfield mobile payments and banking company in Sierra Leone. The coverage is for a period of up to 10 years against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, war and civil disturbance.
Building on the emergence of successful payment systems across Africa, Splash Mobile Money Ltd. will allow customers to send money or make payments using their mobile phones. This can be done by SMS, online access through a mobile phone or by the use of Near-Field Communication technology. Mobile-banking services allow customers to carry out additional banking activities using their mobile phone, for example making deposits, checking account balances, arranging credit facilities or establishing direct debits. This technology is expected to improve security for users, increase liquidity and reduce the cost of transferring funds which is currently high in the formal banking sector.
MIGA’s support for this investment is aligned with the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Strategy for Sierra Leone, which is supporting improved access to finance. The project is also aligned with key agency priorities, which include encouraging investment in countries affected by conflict and those eligible for concessional lending from the World Bank’s International Development Association. The project was underwritten through MIGA’s Small Investment Program.