MMU Programme

The GSMA Development Fund with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has initiated the mobile for the unbanked  (MMU) programme to accelerate the availability of mobile money services to the unbanked and those living on less than US$2 per day.

Bringing together mobile operators in developing countries, banks, microfinance institutions, governments, development organisations and the private sector, MMU has the goal of reaching 20 million previously unbanked people with mobile financial services by 2012.

About the Fund
The MMU Fund has been established to award innovation grants to support commercially viable and sustainable mobile operator led projects in developing counties that contribute to meeting the MMU goal of reaching 20 million previously unbanked people with mobile financial services by 2012.

The Fund seeks to accelerate the development of mobile money services in terms of speed (number of mobile money deployments), scale (number of subscribers), and sophistication (from individual platforms enabling cash transfers, to interoperable platforms enabling savings, credit and insurance).

The specific objectives of the MMU Fund are to support projects that result in:

- Mobile Money for the unbanked becoming considered mainstream business for mobile operators
- Mobile Money services becoming extensively available to those who have been previously unbanked
- Mobile Money extending the reach and reducing the costs of financial services such as savings, insurance, payments and credit to previously unbanked customers

We encourage applications with unique, new or innovative way of providing mobile money solutions for the unbanked.

Current Status
As of January 2010, approximately 80% of the fund has been allocated to projects around the world.  The MMU Programme has awarded grants to AKTEL, AXIS, Dialog Telekom PLC, Grameenphone Ltd , MTN Cameroon, MTN Uganda, Oi, Roshan, SMART, and  Vodacom Tanzania. The funding from MMU will serve to accelerate these deployments, and by the end of 2011 the learnings will be shared with the wider industry.

We encourage applications with unique, new or innovative way of providing MM solutions for the unbanked.

Team

	Seema Desai Seema is the Director for the Mobile Money for the Unbanked Programme (MMU) at the GSM Association, responsible for the definition of MMU’s strategy and the overall quality of delivery by the programme. Prior to joining the GSMA in March 2009, Seema managed a large portion of the Retail savings P&L for one of the UK’s largest retail banks. Seema has also been a Manager at Accenture, within their strategy consulting division, where she focused mainly on Financial Services. Seema completed two secondments to Accenture Development Partnerships, a non-profit arm of Accenture that provides business consulting to NGOs and donor organisations, and has worked in Uganda, Trinidad & Tobago and India. Seema holds a 1st Class Honours degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University.
	Paul Leishman Paul is a Manager for the Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) Programme at the GSM Association. In this role he supports the development of strategy and execution for mobile network operators (MNOs) in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Prior to joining the GSM Association, Paul was a consultant at a Canadian firm where he primarily advised a smartphone manufacturer during the opportunity assessment phase of a new service launch. Before this, Paul worked on the Strategic Planning & Execution team at TELUS Mobility, a Canadian MNO, and earned an HBA (Honours Business Administration) with distinction from the Richard Ivey School of Business.
	Neil Davidson Neil Davidson is a Manager for the Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) Programme at the GSM Association. In this role he supports mobile network operators that have been awarded grants from the MMU Fund as they develop and deploy mobile money services. Neil’s background and professional interest is in businesses that benefit the poor. Prior to joining the MMU programme, Neil worked for Kenya’s second-largest microfinance institution, K-Rep Bank, and as a consultant at McKinsey & Co., where he advised a leading retail bank in Nigeria and to a logistics conglomerate in South Africa. Neil earned his bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Harvard University.
	Yasmina McCarty Yasmina McCarty is a Manager for the Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) Programme at the GSM Association. In this role, she supports mobile network operators as they develop their mobile money services.  Yasmina joins the GSMA from Hyderabad, India, where she co-founded and led a social enterprise that helped low-income business owners grow their business.  Prior to that, Yasmina spent nearly five years in the microfinance sector, working with microfinance organizations in LAC, South Asia and Africa.  Yasmina started her career in marketing, developing advertising campaigns and corporate brands.  Yasmina holds an MBA from London Business School and Columbia Business School and a BS cum laude from Northwestern University.
	Camilo Tellez Camilo is an Analyst for the Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) Programme at the GSM Association. In this role he supports the team on key research projects and also manages the dissemination of MMU research and learnings. Prior to joining the GSMA, he worked at the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, and at Microsoft Labs in Bangalore where he conducted ICT4D research in the technology for emerging markets team . Camilo also completed a two year appointment in the area of aid effectiveness at the World Bank in Washington D.C. He holds an MA in International Relations and Latin American studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies SAIS and an MSc in Information Systems & Economic Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
	Marina Solin Marina is the Regulatory Director for the Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) Programme at the GSM Association. Her aim is to accelerate discussion between the mobile industry and regulatory authorities to help create appropriate regulatory frameworks. Marina has  over 10 years of experience in dealing with regulatory issues on behalf of the telecoms industry, having worked  on a European Commission project providing the regulatory analysis for accession negotiations of Eastern European countries in the field of telecoms, as well as working in the Representative Office of ‘Deutsche Telekom’ in Brussels. Marina  completed the Sloan Fellowship Programme at London Business School.

	Maha Khan Maha is a Programme Coordinator for the Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) Programme at the GSM Association. In this role, she organises key MMU events and supports the team more widely with planning, research and reporting. Prior to joining the GSMA, Maha conducted social policy research and evaluations in the UK, US and with multi-lateral organisations, such as the World Bank. Her research experience has focused on social and gender inclusion. She holds a MA in International Relations and International Economics with a focus on Conflict Management from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced  International Studies (SAIS)