Facilitating mobile money through SMS for rural farmers

Started by two young graduate economists in 2012  ‘Mobile Solutions for Savings and Credit Cooperatives Acquisition for Small-Scale Farmers’ called ‘Ensuibikko’ enable farmers to save, borrow money, repay loans, make purchases and get paid by others through SMS. 

Gerard Otim, co-founder, ‘Ensuibikko’   says it is a management tool for savings and credit cooperatives where most smallholder farmers belong. It enables them to use SMS to register to their cooperatives, apply for loan, receive and pay the loan, while also sending their savings by mobile money and at the same time, the system helps them to track their savings, credit and repayment. Most of the cooperatives have their accounts with the Microfinance Bank. Not every member can have accounts with the bank because of distance. Traditionally they collect the money, lots f cash and lots of escort. The MFI helps with these.”

Speaking further, Otim says, “We partner with MFIs and work through mobile network operators to provide mobile money services, we aggregate that, we use our platform to connect the MFI, mobilise network operators and the farmers. So if the farmer needs money, he/she sends a normal phone SMS, but there are specific words they have to type – name, loan amount and unique code they have been given. The system would read it. 

The cooperative would be given an online account when the cooperative applies, the administrator of the cooperative can access this account, the administrator can dispatch a loan on this account, he can see everyone’s loan request online and if they need guarantors for the loan, SMS can be sent to guarantors. The system captures it as the guarantor responds and would permit the administrator to grant the loan. If it is a MFB that is managing the platform, the MFB has access to the platform and grants loans to farmers through the platform and the farmer receives the loan as mobile money on his phone.”

OLUYINKA ALAWODE