Uganda’s mobile money market continues to grow every passing day.
Having been introduced about a decade ago, mobile money revolutionized the country’s financial sector.
The latest figures from Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) indicate that the number of Mobile money registered subscribers grew to 24,472,033 in Quarter 4 of 2018, up from 23,249,967 in Quarter 2.
This is contained in UCC’s Sector Performance report for the Quarter ending December 2018.
However, active Mobile money subscribers for the last 90 days were recorded at 13,652,583 compared to 14,169,240 in Q3.
The report adds that the Value of transactions hit Shs18, 023,301,103,972 in Q4 compared to Shs14, 880,145,560,785 in Q3. Q2 had the highest transactions of 19,347,889,204,239 while Q1 transactions were recorded at Shs18, 848,720,076,113.
“The number of mobile money subscription grew by 2.2% and the number of mobile subscription (GSM) grew by 5.3%. The number of active mobile money subscription (SIMs which registered business in the last 90 days) dropped by 3.6%,” the report reads in part.
Mobile Money agents grew to 184,529 in Q4, up from 178,248 recorded in Q3.
“The number of mobile money agents had been on a growing trend. In Q4, the number of mobile money agents grew by 3.5%,” says the report.
The report adds that the number of smart phones is also growing.
“The total number of smart phones in the market grew by 14% in the period Q1 to Q4. The number of smart phones in the market was 5,219,729 by end Q4,” it reads.
Internet usage
The report reveals that Uganda’s internet market is dominated by mobile internet.
“The mobile internet subscription now stands at 14,360,847 up from 13,569,354 reflecting a growth of 5.8%. The total market (this includes both OTT and web access) internet penetration now stand at 37%,” the report reads.
