Established Namibian ICT provider, Paratus Telecom, has diversified its offering by launching a new mobile airtime distribution service called “Katiti”. The service runs on Nomanini’s popular cloud-based mobile point of sale platform and is designed to be used by informal traders and budding entrepreneurs.
John D’Alton, Managing Director: Namibia, Paratus Telecom, explains: “We wanted to bring something new to the market – something that would not only benefit us, and the millions of people who use prepaid phones, but that would also give entrepreneurial individuals an opportunity to supplement their incomes.”
Local vendors are given a brightly coloured and virtually indestructible terminal, or “business in a box” from which they can sell prepaid airtime vouchers. The platform is cloud-based, so vendors simply ‘upload’ airtime when they have internet access. The beauty of the system is that reselling doesn’t require any connectivity or even electricity. The vendor simply selects the type and amount of airtime to be sold and a voucher is printed within seconds.
The device’s battery lasts for five days and is fully charged after just eight hours – ideal for rural areas or places where electricity access is unreliable.
Vahid Monadjem, CEO of Nomanini says: “This launch is so exciting for Nomanini. Namibia is the tenth African country that we have forged a partnership in, and we look forward to embarking on the journey with John and his team.”
Nomanini was recently selected as a finalist for this year’s DAC prize in the category: Taking Development Innovation to Scale. Among the factors that impressed the judging panel was the prospect of better service delivery at lower cost for the poor in Africa, enhanced transparency of micro-payments, and the potential to scale quickly.
