MTN Ghana is stepping up efforts to expand digital payments among informal businesses as it works with government to support a cash-lite economy, a company official said.
The telecom operator used its two-day MoMoFest in Berekum in the Bono Region to promote digital payments, financial literacy and merchant adoption of mobile money, bringing together customers, businesses and residents for cashless shopping, community activities and entertainment.
A cashless market allowed customers to buy food, drinks, fashion, beauty products, phones and household items using MoMo, while selected products were offered for GH¢100 through the MoMo Shop and Mega Rewards, with customers eligible for hourly rewards.
The festival also featured the MoMo Keteke Gameshow, with prizes of up to GH¢10,000, a football gala, community clean-up and Guinness Smooth English Premier League viewing party.
A fraud-awareness drama offered guidance on safer digital transactions, while MoMo support points assisted customers with enquiries and services. The festival ended with the MoMoFest x Revival Concert, featuring musician Kweku Smoke and friends, interactive games, a children’s corner and other family activities.
The programme was supported by Ecobank Ghana PLC, Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited, Ayo Ghana and MTN Business.
The Mobile Money Channel Development Manager, David Nana Addai, said the company was using the festival to encourage micro-enterprises, market traders and small-business operators to replace physical cash with digital transactions.
He said MTN was working with government to enable individuals, businesses and public institutions to transact more seamlessly without relying heavily on physical cash.
The company aims over the next decade to increase the use of digital financial services among informal sector workers, particularly market traders, drivers and retirees, Mr Addai said.
“We are hoping that in the next 10 years the whole economy will have been transformed,” he said, adding that informal sector workers could benefit from micro-pension and insurance products available through MoMo.
He said wider adoption of digital financial services would help transform Ghana’s financial services ecosystem and extend formal financial products to underserved groups.
Mr Addai said MTN was expanding digital payment solutions for micro-enterprises, market traders and small businesses as part of efforts to deepen financial inclusion.
The Berekum festival served as both a customer engagement platform and a practical demonstration of how digital payments can support commerce, financial inclusion and the gradual reduction of cash dependency, he said.
