MTN Ghana as part of the celebration of ten years existence of Mobile Money(MoMo)  service will empower one hundred persons with disability across the country economically. General Manager of Mobile Financial Services of MTN, Eli Hini said the 100 persons will be given the necessary training in becoming MoMo agents and seed money of GH¢4,000 to start their own MoMo business.   “Essentially, we are giving them livelihood from now onwards, those who can manage it very well we believe that it will become bigger tomorrow and they will have their own story to tell on how MoMo has changed their lives.”  Eli Hini said, MoMo has come to make life simple and comfortable for most people and it has impacted the lives of millions of Ghanaians across the country. He pointed out that the world today has become fast paced due to the technological advancements taking place globally.  According to Him, the beginning of MoMo was very slow and extremely difficult, because “what we had introduced was not just a breakthrough in technology, it was also going to break the sociology of how money is used and exchanged”.  Initially, he explained that people were not familiar with the process and benefits. So, MTN had to use different approaches to get users and potential users to first understand the service, be confident about it and begin to use it.  “What was to become a service for everyday use had to be nurtured gradually because of the difficult beginnings. Once we got over the bump of lack of familiarity, we made a lot of progress and today here we are,” he added.  “As we speak now there are six major categories of financial transactions on the MoMo platform under which there are various other services.  We now receive transactions from international partners and have forged partnerships with Visa, Google, Western Union, and Mastercard” Mr Hini said.  He mentioned that one of the key drivers of the growth of MoMo is the institution of Mobile Money month in August with the “cashless” society agenda. This certainly helped in deepening the knowledge and usage of the service. He said beyond financial inclusion, the introduction of Mobile Money into the Ghanaian payment system has created employment for thousands of people. As at the end of May this year, the number of active Mobile Money agents in the Western Region stood at 24,500, over 14,000 agents and over 400 mobile agents. Some of these agents, prior to the introduction of MoMo had no meaningful employment. “We are proud that our innovation has given them hope and the opportunity to earn a living”.  “While we celebrate the achievements made over the past decade, we do not lose sight of the challenges that face us in the Mobile Money sector. As we continue to work hard, there are still concerns about fraud activities.  We continue to call on everyone to constantly educate friends and families to be extra vigilant in protecting their Mobile Money wallets” Mr Hini said.  “We still have some adoption issues especially in the area of payments. Our merchants are slow in coming on board but we believe just like the initial subscriber adoption challenges, we will surmount that also”. He said MTN is looking forward to a future where MoMo will be an acceptable mode of receipt and payment of all government transactions and every form of a financial transaction. Regional Senior Manager of MTN, Prince Owusu Nyarko, said MoMo has over the years transformed the financial services sector and continues to be a lifeline to many unbanked and underserved persons across the country.  “It has transformed the lives of people and positively impacted their businesses, as we launch the 10th-anniversary celebrations today, we seek to use the entire period of the celebration to continue our advocacy for a cashlite economy as the pioneers in Ghana’s Mobile Financial Services space,” he said.   DSP Olivia Ewurabena Adiku, Public Relation Officer (PRO) of the Western Regional Police Command said, complaints reaching the Command indicate that most agents of MoMo face a lot of challenges in their day to day activities. She said since technology has come to stay it is very important for the individuals to be alert especially on the calls received from fraudsters, especially on MoMo. “Do not give your PIN code to the agents or anyone when you are transacting business; visit the MTN office when you have any challenge, your security is very important”, she said.