Gates help to take mobile banking to poor

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has agreed to help fund a massive rollout of projects enabling poor mobile phone users to transfer money using their handsets, an industry body announced on Tuesday.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has agreed to help fund a massive rollout of projects enabling poor mobile phone users to transfer money using their handsets, an industry body announced on Tuesday.

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The GSM Association, which represents 750 mobile phone networks in the world, said a grant of $12.5 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation would help fund 20 initiatives in Asia, Africa and South America.

“There’s 1.7 billion people in the emerging markets who don’t have a bank account but do have a mobile phone, so they could use their mobile phone to conduct financial transactions,” explained Michael O’Hara, marketing director or the GSMA.