The GSMA said six additional grants from the Mobile Money for the Unbanked Fund include AKTEL and Grameenphone (both in Bangladesh), Dialog Telekom (Sri Lanka), MTN Cameroon, MTN Uganda and Vodacom Tanzania.
Grants are available for projects promoting the uptake of mobile money services for the unbanked and underbanked, with funding for projects up to a value of $1million.
GSMA director Gavin Krugel explained that the six operators are working to reduce the infrastructure gap that exists in rural areas and are making mCommerce more accessible, convenient and affordable to customers.
Ovum principal analyst Eden Zoller said the operators are helping people carry out the kind of daily transactions and remittances that people in many other countries take for granted.