Caption: Sitoyo Lopokoiyit – Interim CEO – M-PESA Africa
M-PESA has become the first mobile money provider in Africa to join the Financial Taskforce established by United for Wildlife, a coalition of charities that works to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.
United for Wildlife was created in 2012 by The Royal Foundation, led by Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge. It has brought together conservation organisations, governments and global corporations to protect endangered species like elephants, rhinos, tigers and pangolins so they can share our world with future generations.
The M-PESA mobile money system has become Africa’s most popular financial services provider and the continent’s leading financial technology platform. M-PESA is actively used by 41.5 million customers across seven African countries who make over 12.2 billion transactions per annum. The platform also enables individuals and businesses to pay bills, create savings and loan accounts and to access overdraft facilities, commercial services and healthcare.
Sitoyo Lopokoyit, CEO of M-PESA Africa, said: “The environment remains a critical, shared communal resource and has been under threat from the illegal trade of wildlife.
The future of our economy, families and children therefore depends on protecting our wildlife and our natural ecosystems.”
The pandemic though has had a significant impact on Africa’s tourism industry which has had a knock-on effect on the conservation sector. It will be many months, perhaps even years, before African countries are able to recover the revenue lost because of global travel restrictions.
Yet this has also brought the public health risks of the illegal wildlife trade into sharp focus. Kate Bedwell, Head of Governance, Risk and Compliance for M-PESA, explained:
“Criminal activity not only endangers animals and threatens the security of rangers but also contributes to the spread of zoonotic diseases – infections caused by a pathogen that has jumped from animal to human – such as Covid-19 and Ebola.”
