MTN appoints Head of Mobile Financial Services

MTN Group announced today that MTN Cote d'Ivoire Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), S'erigne Dioum, has been appointed Head of Mobile Financial Services, effective 1 September 2013.

Dioum's appointment comes as MTN renews its focus on value-added services in line with the company's strategic direction. MTN's new vision and mission also place greater emphasis on digital offerings and driving sustainable growth through these services. In his new role, Dioum will be responsible for driving MTN Mobile Money and related mobile financial services products and services across the MTN footprint.

"Mobile Financial Services are crucial to us living our vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to our customers. Furthermore, the continued growth and innovation of our MTN Mobile Money service is at the heart of our digital strategy," says Pieter Verkade, MTN Group Chief Commercial Officer.

"Dioum is a seasoned professional. We have the utmost confidence in his ability to drive growth and innovation to the benefit of our customers in this important financial services segment of our business," he adds.

Dioum has more than 14 years' of experience in the telecoms industry and a qualification in telecommunications engineering from the prestigious French institution, ENST Bretagne. He has been the CMO of MTN Cote d'Ivoire since 2009, and during this time, also acted as General Manager of MTN Mobile Money for the West and Central Africa region.

In his role as CMO, Dioum was responsible for the launch of a number of value propositions and marketing activities, which helped position MTN Cote d'Ivoire as a global telecoms player and Internet leader in the country. He also oversaw the launch of the MTN Mobile Money service in nine MTN operations in West and Central Africa.

Dioum's key tasks as Head of Mobile Financial Services will include product and partner management of MTN Mobile Money. Based in Ghana, Dioum and his team will also handle demand and product management of International Airtime (IAT).

MTN Mobile Money is currently available in 14 countries and has more than 10 million customers. The service enables customers to perform a range of financial transactions using their mobile devices, including the purchase of airtime; payment of school fees, pay-TV subscriptions and utility bills; the purchase of goods and services; and money transfers.

Recent developments have enhanced the service to meet customers' varying needs. Through a partnership with Western Union, for example, MTN Mobile Money subscribers are now able to make transactions from 450 000 locations in 20 countries around the world. While MTN Mobile Money has revolutionised social grant payments in Uganda, where government is using the platform to make monthly disbursement of funds to beneficiaries in remote parts of the country, in Zambia, subscribers are using the service to pay for life insurance.

"We are constantly looking for ways to enhance our MTN Mobile Money service, and we'll continue to pursue value-adding partnerships to enhance the lives of our customers. MTN believes that mobile money is an easier way of extending financial inclusivity to our customers and making their lives a whole lot brighter. With the appointment of S'erigne, we look forward to an even greater focus on our mobile financial services portfolio, and with that, more innovations and value-adding services for our customers," concludes Verkade.