Mohalenyane Phakela
MOEKETSI Leboto was on Tuesday handed the keys to a Toyota Hilux single cab truck after trumping 29 other M-Pesa agents during a Vodacom Lesotho (VCL) competition draw held at Sefika Shopping Complex.
Mr Leboto, who is a M-Pesa agent through his Uncle Max Public Bar, was also among six winners of digital safes during the competition.
M-Pesa is a mobile phone-based money transfer and micro-financing service provided by VCL. Since its July 2013 launch in the Mountain Kingdom, M-Pesa has grown in leaps and bounds with the introduction of other facilities such as paying for digital satellite television and utilities such as water and electricity.
Singing and dancing for joy, he told the Lesotho Times the truck was a blessing from God and an invaluable contribution to his business which is situated in the outskirts of Maseru.
“I had so many life challenges in the previous years. But in the midst of all the sorrows, I always believed that one day God would shower his blessings upon me and that became a reality today,” said Mr Leboto.
“I have been a M-Pesa agent since 2013 when it was launched because it is an effective way to attract customers. Sometimes they use the money they would have withdrawn from their M-Pesa accounts to buy beverages in my bar. It is now even easier for them to pay us directly from their M-Pesa accounts.”
He also paid tribute to Uncle Max Public Bar customers for enabling him to be in contention for the vehicle.
“I would also like to thank our customers. If it wasn’t for them, I would not have won this brand new car today. Vodacom is also a life changer and I am grateful for this blessing from them.”
VCL’s M-Pesa Manager, Mampine Rabatho, told this paper the competition was launched last August with the aim of motivating the telecommunications giant’s agents across the country.
“This competition, which is being held for the first time, was designed for all our M-Pesa agents across the country,” she said.
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“We wanted our agents to see the value of M-Pesa so they can also encourage their customers to make use of the facility for various transactions.”
Ms Rabatho said both individual agents and businesses providing M-Pesa services were in contention for the competition.
“The finalists were selected based on the frequency of deposits by customers.
“Since our agents deal with different numbers of people, we had designed three categories for the competition. The bronze category catered for one to 100 deposits, silver 101 to 750 deposits and gold for more than 751 deposits.”
She said they chose the top 10 in each category adding up to 30 contestants for the draw.
Other prizes included 10 retailer fridges and airtime.
