Malawi’s integrated mobile and ICT services provider, TNM Plc, has appointed Chikhulupiliro Mphatso as the first General Manager of its newly established mobile money subsidiary, TNM Mpamba Ltd.
Mphatso was previously the head of TNM Plc’s mobile money division prior to its evolution into an autonomous company with its own board of directors. The new General Manager said Mpamba will remain integral to TNM Plc’s quest to deepen financial inclusion and application of mobile financial technology in the daily business and lives of Malawians.
“We will continue to provide financial liberty to our customers using the TNM Mpamba mobile money platform that enhances financial inclusion which is mostly geared towards the unbanked and underbanked,” said Mphatso. Therefore bringing financial services closer to more Malawians through the use of their mobile device.
Mphatso assured Mpamba customers that the company will continue improving mobile money services, which contributed to about 4.3 percent of TNM’s total revenues in 2018.
“The fourth industrial revolution is changing the business landscape where businesses are required to adapt to remain valid. As a company, we will keep pushing the boundaries of innovation to enable customers to transact on the trusted, secure and convenient Mpamba platform,” he said.
TNM Plc has retained 100 percent ownership in TNM Mpamba Limited. The change is in compliance with regulatory requirements and does not affect service provision. TNM Mpamba will continue under the same network platform, and infrastructure that customers have grown accustomed to over the years.
TNM Plc’s Chief Executive Officer Michiel Buitelaar who has taken over as Chairman of TNM Mpamba’s Board of Directors said the development underscores TNM’s long-term ambition to leverage on the growth of mobile money and the telco’s strategic direction of becoming more than just a telecoms service provider. This strategic intent was seen in the acquisition of BURCO which made TNM an Internet Service Provider (I.S.P) and more recently in the growth of Mpamba into a separate business unit.
“The birth of TNM Mpamba Limited will fully exploit the benefits of the big synergies between TNM Plc and the mobile money business, underscoring our vision of becoming ‘more than just a telco’. The growth of Mpamba speaks to TNM’s fundamental vision and strategy which seeks to enable mobile phones to become financial outlets,” he said.
Year on year, TNM’s Mpamba revenue contribution grew by 54 percent from MWK2.4 billion in 2017 to MWK 3.7 billion in 2018, according to TNM Plc’s 2018 annual report. TNM’s first-half results for the period ending June 2019 also show strong revenue growth for its business units.
