African mobile money provider M-Pesa joins fight against illegal wildlife trade
The mobile money transfer company will play a critical role in stopping the illicit trade by ensuring that there are no illegal funds going through its platform.
JOHANNESBURG, November 25 (ANA) – Mobile money transfer service M-Pesa said on Wednesday it had joined a financial taskforce established by United for Wildlife, a coalition of charities working to tackle illegal trade in wildlife.
In a statement, chief executive officer of M-Pesa Africa Sitoyo Lopokoyit said the environment remained a critical, shared communal resource and had been under threat from the illegal trade.
“The future of our economy, families and children therefore depends on protecting our wildlife and our natural ecosystems,” Lopokoyit said.
“M-PESA will play a critical role in the mission to stop the illegal wildlife trade by ensuring that there are no illegal funds going through our platform to support or to help this illegal activity.”
M-Pesa is a mobile phone-based money transfer service, payments and micro-financing service launched in 2007 by Vodafone and Safaricom, the largest mobile network operator in Kenya. It has since expanded to other countries including Tanzania, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Ghana, Egypt and Afghanistan.
United for Wildlife was created in 2012 by The Royal Foundation, led by Britain’s Prince William, and has brought together conservation organisations, governments and global corporations to protect endangered species like elephants, rhinos, tigers and pangolins.
United for Wildlife’s financial taskforce was established in 2018 via a declaration which commits signatories to use financial intelligence and resources to support law enforcement efforts in pursuing the illegal trade’s greatest beneficiaries.
It now has 42 signatories including Standard Bank, Barclays, Banco Santander, the City of London, Deutsche Bank, HSBC Bank and JP Morgan Chase.
“The illegal wildlife trade is a global crisis and financial institutions have a crucial role to play in the fight against it,” United for Wildlife chairman Lord William Hague said.
“United for Wildlife welcomes M-Pesa to further strengthen the links between financial institutions and law enforcement in order to combat the trafficking of illegal wildlife products.”
Organised crime has become one of the greatest threats to animals in Africa and other continents. The illegal wildlife trade is valued between US$50 million and US$150 billion annually and is one of the five most lucrative global crimes.
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa
