- M-Pesa facilitates instant deposit to individual bank accounts from SHG bank accounts
- Partnership to benefit1500 Self Help Groups with increased credit rating and higher loan disbursement
- Six monthspilot project in 3 blocks of Rajasthan – Anandpuri-Banswara district, Baap- Jodhpur district and Sankar-Jaisalmer district

VodafoneIndia, one of India’s leading telecom service providers, has entered into a strategic tie-up with Rajasthan Grameen Aajeevika Vikas Parishad (RGAVP),to empower women in Village Organisation (VO)/ Self Help Group (SHG). The partnership facilitates instant deposits to their saving account using the mobile wallet - M-Pesa.

Currently, RGAVP gives small loans to women in poor families in the form of cash. Loans are given to the Village Organisation (VO)/ Self Help Group (SHG) leaders and cashiers who drive the business. These loan amounts are disbursed in the form of cash and repayment amount is collected periodically.

With M-Pesa wallet, the loan amount will be deposited instantly by the leaders to the individual savings account. Instant confirmation in the form of SMS is sent to the individual handsets. Instead on travelling 10-15 kms in most case for cash transaction, Vodafone M-Pesa facilitates instant, safe and secure cash transaction for the poor in Rajasthan. Regular deposit into savings account at regular intervals using M-Pesa will further boost credit ratings. The partnership will boost the banking system in Rajasthan and facilitate higher loan disbursement for the poor.

Vodafone has entered into a six months pilot project with Rajasthan Grameen Aajeevika Vikas Parishad (RGAVP) in 3 blocks of Rajasthan namely - Anandpuri in Banswara district, Baap in Jodhpur district and Sankar in Jaisalmer district.

Speaking about the association Suresh Sethi, Business Head M-Pesa, Vodafone India said, “M-pesa is an innovative financial service from Vodafone that brings the bank to the mobile and addresses the issue of access to financial services. We are delighted to extend M-Pesa offering to Rajasthan Grameen Aajeevika Vikas Parishad (RGAVP). We are confident that this association will go a long way in simplifying the payments process for RGAVP from the Self Help Groups. Currently, we are running a pilot in 3 blocks of Rajasthan. We are hoping to extend the benefit of using M-Pesa (Mobile Wallets) and further enhance the capabilities of the VO/SHGs.”

Expressing his delight on the initiative, Shri. Rajeev Singh Thakur - Secretary RD &State Mission Director, RGAVP said, “With this partnership we aim to make money depositing process simple and fast. This technology enables us to take banking service at the doorstep of our SHG women and make the experience hassle free."

Vodafone India provides customers with a new currency in the form of M-Pesa, the world renowned mobile wallet and money transfer service. Vodafone M-Pesa is an innovative, safe and secure mobile wallet enables complete suite of services like money transfer, bill payments, and recharge on the move from the mobile. It caters to all segments of the society, from the unbanked to the under banked and to the net-savvy and evolved customers. Today, with a pan-India distribution of close to 90,000 agents and more than 3 million customers, Vodafone M-Pesa is the largest banking correspondent in the country and is playing a vital role in enabling financial inclusion and m-commerce.

About Vodafone India
Vodafone India is a fully owned subsidiary of Vodafone PLC, which is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies. Making its entry into India in 2007, Vodafone today has built an ever growing, robust business in highly price sensitive and competitive market. Serving over 180 million customers, Vodafone provides innovative, customer friendly and differentiated products and services through a wide scale distribution and exclusive retail footprint - backed up with a modern, technologically advanced network for both voice and data.

Vodafone Business Services, the enterprise arm of Vodafone, provides total telecommunications solutions across both mobility and wireline platforms and enables Global Enterprises, National Corporates, SME’s and Government segments to communicate, collaborate and connect.

Vodafone India provides customers with a new currency in the form of M-Pesa, the world renowned mobile wallet and money transfer service. Vodafone M-Pesa is an innovative, safe and secure mobile wallet enables complete suite of services like money transfer, bill payments, and recharge on the move from the mobile. It caters to all segments of the society, from the unbanked to the under banked and to the net-savvy and evolved customers.Today, with a pan-India distribution of close to 90,000 agents and more than 3 million customers, Vodafone M-Pesa is the largest banking correspondent in the country and is playing a vital role in enabling financial inclusion and m-commerce.

With the advantage of its global expertise and knowledge of local markets, Vodafone India is well poised to significantly expand the Government's capacity to deliver benefits and outcomes for citizens, governments and businesses. It endeavours to be a steadfast partner in the Government’s efforts towards Digital India
A value based organization; Vodafone is committed to achieving the highest standards of Health, Safety and Well-being for its employees and business partners. Sustainability is an integral part of the company’s mission and strategy and ‘Vodafone Cares’ is the platform to showcase initiatives under the pillars of education, environment and empowerment. The Vodafone Foundation, in turn, is committed to leveraging India’s pressing challenges using mobile technology, thus playing an important role in India’s digitization programme. Its activities focus on the 4M’s for empowering individuals – mHealth, mEducation, mAgriculture and mWomen.

About Vodafone Plc.
Vodafone is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies and provides a range of services including voice, messaging, data and fixed communications. Vodafone has mobile operations in 26 countries, partners with mobile networks in 55 more, and fixed broadband operations in 17 markets. As of 31st December, 2014, Vodafone has 444 million mobile customers and 11.8 million fixed broadband customers.

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