We are pleased to announce that Telepin client, Etisalat Afghanistan, is a finalist in the World Connected awards! The awards are designed to celebrate the very best in Mobile Lifeline Services and focus on excellence in innovation and service delivery. Winners will be announced at the gala reception at Connected World Forum on November 20th.

Etisalat Afghanistan is a finalist in the Social Inclusion category which recognizes organizations for the greatest difference to their communities with social inclusion and has delivered social and economic benefits. Please take a minute and go vote for Etisalat Afghanistan by visiting here.

The mHawala service provides a much-needed, highly innovative service in a market where 95% of citizens do not have access to banking infrastructure.

Here’s a bit of background on the mHawala service from Etisalat:

mHawala – Afghanistan’s complete mobile money solution: Mobile density in Afghanistan is currently at 50 percent and is growing rapidly. However, 95 percent of Afghans do not have access to banking infrastructure. Etisalat Afghanistan, a subsidiary of Emirates Telecommunications Corporation-ETISALAT, is the first mobile network operator in Afghanistan to offer an entire range of Mobile Financial Services.

Since late 2011, Telepin Software’s Cayman Transaction platform has powered Etisalat Afghanistan for a full mobile financial services (MFS) offering that includes central bank cooperation, banking ecosystem participation, utility merchant involvement, and salary disbursement, which enables complete mobile banking capabilities and future cross-border money transfers. The country’s unique market cross-section creates a need for the investment in advanced mobile money platforms. Etisalat Afghanistan has introduced a much-needed innovative service to the market with mHawala. Telepin MFS products provide the operator with the ability to deliver robust financial services offering to their subscriber and merchant customers. Telepin’s software plugs seamlessly into existing mobile infrastructure, leveraging the investments already made in charging systems, replenishment systems, and value added service delivery platforms.