Mobile Money Applicationsand Uganda‟s Gross Domestic Product (Gdp) Case Study: Mtn Uganda
Year: 2014
Author: WAMALA SABIITI
Supervisor: Nanfuka Mary
Abstract
The aim of the study was to find out the effect of mobile money on Uganda‟s GDP, the research was narrowed down on the effect of the mobile money applications; mobile banking, mobile purchases and mobile transfers on Uganda‟s GDP. The research mainly concentrated on the MTN mobile company in Uganda and mainly registered agents of MTN. the research was aimed at finding out whether the mobile money system was affecting Uganda‟s GDP positively or negatively and the effect of the taxes introduced by the government. The study was guided by the quantity theory of money with more emphasis put on the velocity of money and the quantity of money in circulation in relation to the output generated by that money.
In order to obtain answers to the research questions both primary and secondary data was collected from the three divisions of Kampala which are; Rubaga, Makindye and Kawempe. Both probability and non-probability sampling methods were applied to obtain the mobile money agents to constitute the sample. Interview method, observation method, questionnaires and informal discussions were used in the process of data collection while the secondary data was obtained from governmental organisations like UBOS,UCC and BOU. The study also considered the influence of mobile money from the year 2012 to the year 2014.
The data collected from the questionnaires was analysed using SPSS and excel softwares and analysed using both the quantitative and the qualitative approach. The key findings of the study show that mobile money has actually affected the GDP of Uganda positively with the mobile transfer application contributing the biggest percentage and mobile banking has least percentage of the contribution while mobile purchases though in place its data is scarce. The taxes levelled on the mobile money system were not actually high as such but were just economical for the smooth growing of the GDP. The mobile money business was actually improving the welfare of those who were doing it as a business and to a larger extent it was easy and efficient for the payment of utility bills.
The study recommends that the government of Uganda should actually integrate the mobile money system into the financial sector to develop and improve the implementation of the monetary policies of the central bank. The integration will also improve on the circulation of money with in the economy and establish an equitable distribution of income. The registration of mobile money as a full financial institution will also attract more customers to transact with it and hence will lead to a growth in Uganda‟s GDP.
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