M-Pesa is first African FinTech platform to join United for Wildlife Financial Taskforce

M-Pesa has become the first mobile money provider in Africa to join the Financial Taskforce  established by United for Wildlife, a coalition of charities that works to tackle the illegal wildlife  trade. 

United for Wildlife was created in 2012 by The Royal Foundation, led by Prince William, The Duke of  Cambridge. It has brought together conservation organisations, governments and global  corporations to protect endangered species like elephants, rhinos, tigers and pangolins so they can  share our world with future generations. 

Organised crime has become one of the greatest threats to animals in Africa and other continents.  The illegal wildlife trade is valued between US$50-US$150 billion per year and is one of the five most  lucrative global crimes. There is consensus that the global financial system is a crucial medium for  the transfer of illicit proceeds. 

The M-Pesa mobile money system has become Africa’s most popular financial services provider and  the continent’s leading financial technology platform. M-Pesa is actively used by 41.5 million  customers across seven African countries who make over 12.2 billion transactions per annum. The  platform also enables individuals and businesses to pay bills, create savings and loan accounts and to  access overdraft facilities, commercial services and healthcare.  

Sitoyo Lopokoyit, CEO of M-Pesa Africa, said: “The environment remains a critical, shared communal  resource and has been under threat from the illegal trade of wildlife. The future of our economy,  families and children therefore depends on protecting our wildlife and our natural ecosystems.” 

The pandemic though has had a significant impact on Africa’s tourism industry which has had a  knock-on effect on the conservation sector. It will be many months, perhaps even years, before  African countries are able to recover the revenue lost because of global travel restrictions.  

Yet this has also brought the public health risks of the illegal wildlife trade into sharp focus. Kate Bedwell, Head of Governance, Risk and Compliance for M-Pesa, explained: “Criminal activity not only  endangers animals and threatens the security of rangers but also contributes to the spread of  zoonotic diseases – infections caused by a pathogen that has jumped from animal to human – such as Covid-19 and Ebola.”

United for Wildlife’s Financial Taskforce was established in 2018 via a Declaration signed at Mansion  House in London. The Declaration commits signatories to use financial intelligence and resources to  support law enforcement efforts to pursue the illegal wildlife trade’s greatest beneficiaries. There  are now 42 signatories to the Declaration including Standard Bank, Barclays, Banco Santander Group, the City of London, Deutsche Bank, HSBC Bank, and JP Morgan Chase. The United for Wildlife Taskforce Information Sharing System underpins much of the action by the taskforce. 

Lord William Hague, Chair of United for Wildlife said: “The illegal wildlife trade is a global crisis and  financial institutions have a crucial role to play in the fight against it. United for Wildlife welcomes M-Pesa to further strengthen the links between financial institutions and law enforcement in order  to combat the trafficking of illegal wildlife products.” 

Sitoyo Lopokoyit added: “M-Pesa will play a critical role in the mission to stop the illegal wildlife  trade by ensuring that there are no illegal funds going through our platform to support or to help  this illegal activity.”