Fertile Grounds for Mobile Money: Towards a Framework for Analyzing Enabling Environments

Enterprise Development and Microfinance, Vol. 22, No. 1, March 2011

15 Pages Posted: 21 Apr 2010 Last revised: 12 Jun 2014

See all articles by Amrik Heyer

Amrik Heyer

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Ignacio Mas

Tufts University

Date Written: August 1, 2010

Abstract

The potential of mobile phones to revolutionize access to financial services in developing countries is exemplified powerfully by the success of the M-Pesa mobile money service in Kenya. But the apparent difficulty of replicating M-Pesa’s success even in neighboring countries suggests that some contexts may be more receptive to such an innovation than others. In this paper we seek to understand the environmental dynamics affecting the uptake of mobile money. We demonstrate that, aside from strong strategy and good business models, the impact of financial services in developing countries is dependent on the extent of market penetration and the political environments in which they take root.

Keywords: mobile banking, e-payments, microfinance

Suggested Citation

HEYER, AMRIK and Mas, Ignacio, Fertile Grounds for Mobile Money: Towards a Framework for Analyzing Enabling Environments (August 1, 2010). Enterprise Development and Microfinance, Vol. 22, No. 1, March 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1593389

AMRIK HEYER

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Ignacio Mas (Contact Author)

Tufts University ( email )

Medford, MA 02155
United States

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