Page 74 - SAMENA Trends - January-February 2025

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Bangladesh Leads South Asia in Mobile Money Growth

Bangladesh continues to spearhead in the use of mobile money can increase a 1.4 trillion, a 14% increase compared to
mobile money adoption in South Asia, country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2022. From 2013 to 2022, mobile money
with a significant impact on financial 0.4% to 1.0%. This global trend is reflected contributed $600 billion to global GDP. For
inclusion and economic growth, according in Bangladesh as well. Here, mobile all these reasons, mobile money is now
to a report of Global System for Mobile financial services (MFS) are making the the most influential medium of financial
Communications Association (GSMA) largest contribution to financial inclusion. inclusion globally. In 2023, the number
published during the first half of 2024. MFSs are not just limited to providing of registered agents worldwide was 18.6
The report titled "The State of the Industry services like cash-in, cash-out, or sending million, a 22% increase from the previous
Report on Mobile Money 2024" states the money anymore. The MFS platforms are year. In 2023, international remittance
use of mobile money is increasing rapidly also facilitating payments of all types, growth was the highest among mobile
all over the world with approximately $2.7 paying utility bills, donations, stipend money services. Global remittances via
million (nearly Tk33 crore) was transacted disbursement, and salary disbursement etc. mobile phones increased from $22 billion
every minute globally via mobile phones in Even products like loans and savings are in 2022 to $29 billion in 2023, seeing a 33%
2023. GSMA is a London-based non-profit also available in bKash's platform. Besides, increase. Merchant payments increased by
organisation representing mobile network MFS like bKash has made it easier than 14% to $74 billion. The average transaction
operators worldwide. The report states ever for expatriate Bangladeshis to send per active account was $169, compared
that mobile money is having a significant remittances with just few clicks. According to $163 in 2022. Both bank-to-mobile and
positive impact on people's lives and to the GSMA report, in 2023, the number mobile-to-bank transactions have also
livelihoods as the growth of mobile money of registered MFS accounts worldwide increased. In 2023, the transaction amount
directly contributes to economic growth. was 1.75 billion, a 12% increase from the stood at $210 billion in that area, registering
Analysing data from 2013 to 2022, GSMA previous year. Transactions through these a 50% increase from the previous year and
stated that a 10 percentage point increase accounts in that year amounted to US$ a 250% increase compared to 2020.

Ooredoo Group to Build One of the Largest International Submarine Cables in
GCC Connecting Seven Countries

Ooredoo Group has signed an agreement
with Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN)
to build the Fibre in Gulf (FIG) submarine
cable, connecting seven GCC countries:
Qatar, Oman, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, and Iraq. This cable will create a
low-latency, high-capacity route to Europe,
offering up to 24 fibre pairs and a total
capacity of 720Tbps. The advanced infra-
structure aims to significantly enhance
regional connectivity, improving network
reliability, security, and speed for hyper-
scalers, telecom operators, governments,
AI providers, data centers, and businesses.
The FIG project will support the growth of
cloud services, big data, and digital trans- FIG cable a transformative project that will also includes initiatives in AI, data centers,
formation initiatives across the region. strengthen the GCC’s position as a global fintech, IoT, and submarine cables, with its
Ooredoo’s Group CEO, Aziz Aluthman Fakh- digital hub. The initiative is also expected Oman division landing the 2Africa Cable
roo, stated that the project aligns with the to support regional digital transformation, System last year. Group Chief Business
company’s strategy to lead in digital infra- boosting connectivity and establishing the Services Officer, Najib Khan, highlighted the
structure, expanding network capacity and region as a critical hub for data exchange. substantial benefits of this project for busi-
interconnectivity across the GCC and be- Ooredoo continues to invest in innovative nesses, governments, and AI application
yond. He also emphasized Ooredoo’s role technologies, having recently become the providers, reinforcing Ooredoo’s position
in meeting the growing data demand be- first NVIDIA Cloud Partner in the region in as a leading digital infrastructure provider
tween Asia and Europe. Alain Biston, CEO 2024 and planning to deploy advanced GPU in the region.
of ASN, praised the partnership, calling the chips soon. The company’s strategic focus

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