MICT’s Subsidiary, Tingo Mobile, Establishes Strategic Presence in Malawi and East Africa, Representing an Important Market for its Agri-FinTech and FinTech Products
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MICT’s Subsidiary, Tingo Mobile, Establishes Strategic Presence in Malawi and East Africa, Representing an Important Market for its Agri-FinTech and FinTech Products
Launchto Facilitate Expedited Rollout Across East Africa Region and Access toKey New Agricultural Products for its Commodity Trading and Export Business
MONTVALE, NJ, Dec. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MICT, Inc. (NASDAQ: MICT) (“MICT”) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Tingo Mobile Limited (“Tingo Mobile” and together with MICT, the “Group”), has today launched in Malawi, as it establishes a strategic presence in East Africa and accelerates its pan-African rollout.
Having already achieved a substantial user base in West Africa, which is expected to expand considerably in the coming months, Tingo Mobile’s move into Malawi is an important development for a number of reasons. While Malawi is itself a sizeable target market for Tingo Mobile’s Agri-Fintech and FinTech platforms and products, its strategic location is also expected to facilitate accelerated expansion into other key East Africa territories, such as the neighbouring countries of Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique.
With farming and agriculture representing Malawi’s biggest contributor to Gross Domestic Product, maize, cassava, bananas, sugar cane and ground nuts the most widely grown crops, this new market is expected to make a material contribution to the Group’s revenues and profitability from 2023 and beyond. Through the adoption of its proven model in West Africa, Tingo Mobile is at an advanced stage of negotiating trade deals with a number of Malawi’s largest co-operatives and agricultural associations, representing several million farmers.
Tingo Mobile’s expansion into Malawi and East Africa is expected to facilitate access to significant volumes of the region’s key crops, including coffee, tea, cotton, sugar cane, maize, and rice. With the ability to trade in such produce, which markedly broadens Tingo Mobile’s product range, the company has already identified significant sales demand through its commodity trading and export business and Tingo DMCC.
Darren Mercer, Chief Executive Officer of MICT, commented: “We welcome Malawi into our growing portfolio of geographical markets, as part of our pan-African and global rollout strategy. I could not be more thrilled at the pace of our progress as we continue to internationalize the business and prosper from the benefits we share with Tingo Mobile’s customer base.
“I am particularly proud of our rapidly broadening market reach, and today’s expansion into East Africa, as we significantly increase our supply chain and expand the product range for our recently launched commodity platform and export business.
“When we first considered the acquisition of Tingo Mobile, a key attraction was the international scalability of the business, and the considerable difference we believed we could make to the speed of its rollout and its dollarization. Today’s launch into Malawi, within only a few days of launching in Dubai and the Middle East, and only a month since launching in Ghana, is compelling validation of our belief and optimism regarding the huge growth potential of the Group.”
Dozy Mmobuosi, Tingo Mobile Founder and Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are delighted to launch our business into Malawi, which marks our first move into East Africa and is further progression of our pan-African expansion. Our rollout into Malawi and other countries clearly demonstrates the transferability of our Agri-Fintech platform and its benefits into new markets, and as such we look forward to having a long-term relationship with numerous soon to be announced partners in the East Africa region.
“As our business continues to internationalize and expand across Africa, the value we bring to the farmer is evident, including through our ability to facilitate their direct access to international markets, which in turn is expected to allow us to rapidly grow our recently launched commodity platform and export business. As a result of the increased opportunities afforded to us as part of a Nasdaq listed company, we look forward to further accelerating our globalization and deepening Tingo Mobile’s integration and synergistic collaboration with MICT.“
About MICT
MICT is a financial technology business principally focused on the growth and development of a suite of consumer fintech services across approximately 130 cities in China, with planned expansion into additional markets. MICT has developed highly scalable proprietary platforms for insurance products (B2B, B2B2C and B2C) and financial services/products (B2C), the technology for which is highly adaptable for other applications and markets. MICT has acquired and holds the requisite license and approvals with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to deal in securities and provide securities advisory and asset management services. MICT also has memberships/registrations with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the requisite Hong Kong and China Direct clearing companies. MICT’s financial services business and first financial services product, the Magpie Invest app, is able to trade securities on NASDAQ, NYSE, TMX, HKSE, China Stock Connect, LSE, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the Paris Stock Exchange.
About Tingo Mobile
Tingo Mobile, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of MICT, is the leading Agri-Fintech company operating in Africa, with a marketplace platform that empowers social upliftment through mobile, technology and financial access for rural farming communities. Tingo’s novel “device as a service” model allows it to add market leading applications to enable customers to trade, buy top ups, pay bills, access insurance and lending services. With 9.3 million existing customers, Tingo Mobile is seeking to expand its operations across select markets in Africa. Tingo Mobile’s strategic plan is to become the eminent Pan-African Agri-Fintech business delivering social upliftment and financial inclusion to millions of SME farmers and women-led businesses.
Tingo Mobile offers its comprehensive platform service through use of smartphones – ‘device as a service’ (using GSM technology) -- to empower a marketplace to enable subscribers/farmers within and outside of the agricultural sector to manage their commercial activities of growing and selling their production to market participants both domestically and internationally. The ecosystem provides a ‘one stop shop’ solution to enable such subscribers to manage everything from airtime top ups, bill pay services for utilities and other service providers, access to insurance services and micro finance to support their value chain from ‘seed to sale’.
As of June 30, 2022, Tingo Mobile had approximately 9.3 million subscribers using its mobile phones and Nwassa platform. Nwassa is Africa’s leading digital agriculture ecosystem that empowers rural farmers and agri-businesses by using proprietary technology to enable access to markets in which they operate. Farm produce can be shipped from farms across Africa to any part of the world, in both retail and wholesale quantities. Nwassa’s payment gateway also has an escrow structure that creates trust between buyers and sellers. Tingo Mobile’s system provides real-time pricing, straight from the farms, eliminating middlemen. Tingo Mobile’s users pay for produce bought using available pricing on its platform.
Certain statements made herein contain, and certain oral statements made by representatives of MICT and its affiliates, from time to time may contain, “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. MICT’s actual results may differ from its expectations, estimates and projections and consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “might” and “continues,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, MICT’s expectations with respect to future performance and anticipated financial impacts of the Business Combination, the satisfaction of the closing conditions to the Business Combination and the timing of the completion of the Business Combination. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Most of these factors are outside of the control of MICT and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include but are not limited to: (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement (as defined below); (2) the inability to complete the Business Combination, including due to the failure to obtain approval of the stockholders of MICT or other conditions to closing in the Merger Agreement; (3) the inability to obtain or maintain the listing of MICT’s common stock on Nasdaq following the Business Combination; (4) the risk that the Business Combination disrupts current plans and operations of MICT as a result of the announcement and consummation of the Business Combination; (5) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth economically and hire and retain key employees; (7) the inability to complete the Business Combination due to inability to obtain regulatory approval; (8) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (10) the possibility that MICT may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and (11) the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on any of the foregoing risks and other risks and uncertainties to be identified in the proxy statement/prospectus (when available) relating to the Business Combination, including those under “Risk Factors” therein, and in other filings with the SEC made by MICT. The foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. Readers are referred to the most recent reports filed with the SEC by MICT. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. MICT undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, subject to applicable law.
No Solicitation
This Press Release does not constitute a solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the Business Combination.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
MICT intends to file with the SEC a preliminary proxy statement of MICT in connection with Business Combination. The definitive proxy statement and other relevant documents will be mailed to stockholders of MICT as of a record date to be established for voting on the Business Combination. Stockholders of MICT and other interested persons are advised to read, when available, the preliminary proxy statement, and amendments thereto, and the definitive proxy statement in connection with MICT’s solicitation of proxies for the special meeting to be held to approve the Business Combination because these documents will contain important information about MICT, Tingo and the Business Combination. Stockholders will also be able to obtain copies of the proxy statement, without charge, once available, on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Participants in the Solicitation
MICT and certain of its directors, executive officers, other members of management and employees, under SEC rules, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of MICT in favor of the approval of the Business Combination.
Additional information regarding the interests of such potential participants will also be included in the Proxy Statement and other relevant documents when they are filed with the SEC. Free copies of these documents may be obtained as described in the preceding paragraph.
