Orange Botswana’s mobile money service, Orange Money saw its market share fall by almost 10 percent last year.
Despite this drop, the platform continues to dominate the market, accounting for 49 percent of all mobile transfer, according to Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) annual report for 2023.
Next on the list was Mascom’s My Zaka with 38 percent, followed by Botswana Telecommunications Corporation’s (BTC) Smega Money at 11 percent while Botswana Post, which joined the fray in 2018 with Poso Money, claimed 2 percent of the market share.
The four mobile money operators made transactions worth P26.5 billion in 2023, compared to P20.5 billion the previous year, which represents a 29 percent increase.
In 2022, Orange was the market leader with 59 percent followed by Mascom with 30 percent while BTC took 9 percent and Botswana Post again claiming 2 percent.
Owing to the convergence between technology and financial services, mobile money is compatible with traditional bank accounts, which brought about the much- needed convenience for users.
Cross-border transactions are also possible, making mobile money an even more attractive and widely accepted option for payment processes.
As a result, the number of mobile money accounts recorded shows an increase of 46 percent from March 2019 to March 2023, with subscriptions increasing from 1, 662, 843 in March 2022 to 1, 685, 072 in March 2023.
The growth is attributed to the wide acceptance of the service and its convenience related to bill payments, service subscriptions, and money transfers.
