PETER OJO

CEO - VTN

JANUARY 7, 2013

We have reached a milestone and are pleased to share this  information to the general public, though members of the  local press here in Ibadan. We truly appreciate your  interest and I am personally at your disposal to answer any  questions. 

Today we officially launch our VCASH mobile payment service  with a preliminary kickoff event for VCASH agents and  superagents, and for those wishing to join our family, at  the University of Ibadan Conference Center. 

The opportunity we are so fortunate to be in a position to  offer is to become part of the mobile financial revolution  that is sweeping across Africa. Though but a small ripple  today, the foundation has been laid with some 100 million  mobile phones active in every corner of our nation. A  financial groundswell is imminent and it promises to  transform lives. Those with the foresight to jump in with  discipline and with the tenacity to execute correctly will  be successful. That today's event is being held at one of  Nigeria's most prestigious universities is entirely  appropriate, as this next leg of our journey is all about  education and human capital. 

To get to this point we've had to pass over many hurdles.  We've passed over technology hurdles by providing electronic  transaction services for years in Nigeria. This experience  also provided us with a nuanced insight of Nigerian consumer  behaviors regarding digital money. We've passed regulatory  hurdles and are now fully licensed by the Central Bank of  Nigeria. We've begun exciting partnerships. Next is perhaps  the highest hurdle of all, building out a full team, that  will be our bridge linking the digital world with the  physical world, "the last mile" to reach the urban and rural  poor. 

So today's event brings together the early adopters, the  visionaries who have already spent time and money getting  trained in our systems and complying with every regulatory  requirement. VCASH is not a monopoly; CBN has issued a  number of mobile payments licenses and our agents have been  and remain free to sign up with any or all of them. Most of  our agents have explored the possibilities and have told us  that they realize that VCASH is the only licensee that puts  them in the drivers seat rather than the back of the bus.  They see the systems we have in place that are designed to  make money for agents on the ground. These include numerous  and generous commissions, online support, training and  guidance for those willing to successfully run broad-based  agencies.

This Kick-Off event is partly a celebration of our new  service, partly an announcement of a never-before-in-Nigeria  partnership and an innovative grant program, and partly a  skull session to educate our brothers and sisters in this  effort about all things VCASH. 

We are gratified and humbled that our family is expanding so  rapidly. We give them the shirts off our back but still our  embrace is one of tough love. VCASH agents and superagents  must be at the top of their game. Our vision is crystal  clear -- their success is essential to ours and we are  determined to go above and beyond to support them.