Mobile phone money transfer services is creating thousands of employment opportunities in Kenya as more people adopt and use the platforms.The sector is turning out to be a major source of employment in the east African nation as Kenyans embrace mobile phone cash transfer services, which they use to pay bills, send cash and repay loans among other services. Statistics from the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) indicated that close to 50,000 people are employed in the industry as mobile money agents. In a report released on Tuesday in Nairobi, CCK noted the number of people working as agents stood at 49,079. The number grew in the quarter ending June by 7.02 percent, rising from 45, 861 by March. “At the end of quarter under review, there were 49,079 active mobile money transfer service agents compared to 45,861 recorded in the previous quarter and 42,313 posted at the end of the previous year. This represents a quarterly and an annual growth of 7.02 percent and 15.99 percent respectively,” said CCK.The regulator noted that, through a value addition in the mobile telephony industry, the sector continues to create employment opportunities across the east African country. All the four mobile phone companies in Kenya namely Safaricom, Airtel, Yu and Orange offer money transfer services, with Safaricom, which pioneered the service in 2007, controlling the mobile money market in the country. CCK data showed that as of June, there were 19.5 million mobile money subscriptions. The number grew by 2.73 percent from 18.9 million in the previous quarter. The main work of those employed in the sector as agents by the four service providers include handling deposits and helping clients withdraw cash at outlets scattered across the east African nation. In the period from April to June, the agents handled 2.3 billion U.S. dollars, according to CCK. The amount increased from 2.1 billion dollars in the previous quarter. Similarly, in the financial year 2011/2012, the agents handled 8 billion dollars, up from 5.8 billion dollars in the previous year. “This upward trend signifies that mobile money transfer service has become instrumental in providing unmet demand for financial services thereby promoting financial inclusion in the country,” said CCK.
