Digital entrepreneurs, App developers now in position to market

financial services platform after the mobile network provider introduced an interface programme that provides guidance.

The mobile financial services provider has followed up its close relations with the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (Costech) by developing an application programme interface (API) document that provides a step-by-step guidance to digital start-ups and App developers to integrate Tigo-Pesa in their applications.

Speaking to reporter the Head of Financial Services at Tigo Ruan Swanepoel, said Tigo invested over $15m in the last 2 years in upgrading its platform and services to continue providing accessible, reliable, secure and convenient services to the customers.

Swanepoel explained that, “The API access will significantly reduce the challenges that entrepreneurs are facing in integrating mobile money services to receive payments from their customers in a seamless manner, monetise their ideas and ultimately deepen the wave of financial inclusion sweeping across the country”.

He added: “Tigo Pesa is dedicated to focusing on flexibility and scalability enabling the development of innovative services and seamless integration with third parties to give customers more benefits of the mobile financial services”.

It would be recalled that earlier in 2016, Tigo-Pesa completed a full interoperability with other mobile financial service operators and banks in Tanzania to make its services available to more people.

Tigo-Pesa also launched its customer App for Android for IOS users, giving them an enhanced and simpler user experience when accessing its services, he said.

API is a set of programming instructions and standards for accessing a web-based software application or web tool. Access to Tigo-Pesa API means university students, e-commerce entrepreneurs, apps developers and other IT experts can come up with viable products or enhance their existing products with Tigo-Pesa integrated in their solutions.

He said the firm is one of the innovative telecommunication companies in the country offering a diverse products portfolio in voice, SMS, high-speed internet and mobile financial services.