GAMSWITCH

Sector: Telecommunications

Model: Operating Concession

Status: Planned

According to the information received, the GAMSWITCH project is already in an early phase of implementation. A joint venture of the project partners has been established and tests of the system are running. However, the financial resources for a full roll-out of the system are lacking. In December 2014 the AfDB has conducted a project preparation mission to consult the stakeholders and update the project plans. The way forward will be determined on the basis of the findings of this mission.

Analysis

The GAMSWITCH project aims to develop a switch for the clearing of electronic payments and transactions with Automated Teller Machines. Once implemented it will allow a full exchange between bank card accounts and mobile phone credits.

The GAMSWITCH project has in fact already been started up, but its progress has stopped due to funding problems The project partners have already formed a joint venture owned by the Central Bank (40%), commercial banks (20%), telecom operator (20%) and Interswitch (specialized, Nigerian company) (20%). A test system is running in three banks, but the funding for a full roll-out of the system is lacking. In response to these problems the AfDB has conducted in December 2014 a project preparation mission to consult the stakeholders and update the project plans. The way forward will be determined on the basis of the findings of this mission.

Next steps

On the basis of the findings of project preparation the PPP Directorate must decide how it can support the implementation of the GAMSWITCH project.