BANK OF AFRICA TANZANIA, VODACOM SEAL DEAL TO OFFER SOFT LOANS TO DISTRIBUTORS

Vodacom Tanzania, Managing Director, Mr Rene Meza.

VODACOM and Bank of Africa Tanzania have sealed a deal that will enable telecom's company distributors to secure loans without collateral security at favourable terms for better services provision to their clients.

Under the partnership arrangement, Vodacom distributors will be entitled to take a minimum loan of 10m/- to the maximum of 75m/- at the interest rate of 1.7 per cent per month at one year payback period.

They will also secure loans worth up to 6-times their average commission earned over a period of six months. Vodacom Tanzania, Managing Director, Mr Rene Meza told a press conference on Wednesday in Dar es Salaam at the launch ceremony that, the scheme has been initiated to financially empower distributors commissioned with the task of ensuring availability of vouchers to customers countrywide.

He said, "The scheme will empower them and provide better services to our customers while having their businesses growing through boosting of sales turnover," he said.

The telecom's firm has over 700 M-Pesa agents or distributors and is currently transacting around 1.2tri/- monthly. For Vodacom, he remarked, the arrangement is important to the distributors who are exposed to cope with the growing number of customers requiring reliable services.

"We urge them to take advantage of the rare opportunity," he added. The BOA-Tanzania, Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ammish Owusu-Amoah said his bank has always believing that by partnering with the telecom firm in providing financial services, more people particularly the unbanked population is reached.

Currently, the bank is transacting over one billion on weekly basis with M-Pesa agents across the country. "We understand the quest of customers in accessing financial solutions in the country, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in order to boost their businesses.

He said the bank will be flexible to accommodate customers who at the initial stage require amount higher than 75m/- upon the appraisal of the customer requests.

"As a bank we are looking at servicing over 100 Vodacom territory distributors who can be able to make purchase through any BOA branch directly at Vodacom's account at BOATanzania.

He said the bank has set up dedicated unit and windows to manage the services across all branches countrywide. The BOA has 11 branches in Dar es Salaam while others are located in Arusha, Morogoro, Mtibwa, Kahama, Kilimanjaro, Mbeya, Tunduma, Mtwara and Mwanza.

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