Digicel Financial Services Limited and Save the Children have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to work in partnership on Mobile Cash Transfers.
The agreement paves way for Save The Children beneficiaries to receive cash support on their mobile phone using Digicel CellMoni.
The Mobile Cash Transfer is part of Save the Children’s Disaster Preparedness work under its Cash and Voucher Assistance project to have mechanisms in place to help youths and families following a disaster like a landslide, cyclone, earthquake, or pandemic with cash payments for essential items.
Through this partnership, Digicel’s Cell Moni will be used in two ways. Firstly, to help youths under Save the Children’s Hand Heart Pocket (HHP) project who are facing challenges in meeting basic needs. Secondly, to assist individuals, households, or community members, especially the most vulnerable, who are affected by a disaster to access cash to use for their basic needs like food and medicine.
Digicel (PNG) Limited’s Chief Executive Officer, Colin Stone, said that Digicel is delighted to collaborate with Save the Children to provide the technology to facilitate disbursement of cash and voucher assistance to Papua New Guineans in times of need. He said the partnership reinforces Digicel’s continued commitment of investing in Papua New Guinea and its future generation.
Digicel will support Save the Children to achieve their objectives of providing project beneficiaries a sustainable livelihood. CellMoni seamlessly and safely converts cash into digital money in turn allowing customers to pay for essential services such as electricity, water bill, airtime top-up, send money to friends and family, business partners, or suppliers instantly across the country.
CellMoni is available wherever the Digicel Network is available and is extendable to all Digicel mobile customers. It is easy to use, safe and secure.
The pilot in Morobe province is only a beginning of multiple other projects on Digicel’s CellMoni roadmap with non-profits organisations who are willing to disburse cash assistance in PNG.
Save the Children’s Country Director, Fiu Williame-Igara, said youths are the future of our country and must be given the tools and support to succeed.
“Hand Heart Pocket is a three-year youth project being implemented in Port Moresby and Lae aimed at supporting youths at risk aged 14-24 a chance to succeed in education and employment,” said Mrs Williame-Igara.
She said further that having a collective approach in Disaster Preparedness means that the needs of affected communities are met and they can recover quickly following a disaster. Also highlighted the privilege to partner with Digicel who have a wide reach from the urban to the most rural places in the country.
“What a privilege to have Digicel as a partner. This means we can help our youths and support more families to buy food, medicine and other basic needs,” said Mrs Williame-Igara.
To roll out the partnership, mobile cash transfers will be done to 60 youths under the HHP project in Morobe, to help them sustain their livelihoods and support them to complete their education through FODE, start a small business, engage in SME or find job opportunities for them.