ZIMBABWES leading cellular network, Econet Wireless says it will extend its Ecolife, the mobile life insurance service to millions of Zimbabweans living outside the country before the end of the year, an official announced on Tuesday.
Econet spokesman, Rangarirai Mberi, told our reporter that the Zimbabweans abroad would be able to register for life cover, making it possible for their families to get up to $10 000 (about R70 000) in Zimbabwe if they die in South Africa.
Zimbabwe has an estimated four million people living in neighbouring South Africa with more than 500 000 others in Europe and America.
This comes as Econet reported strong subscriber uptake of the new product after its launch in Harare last week. We know that many Zimbabweans living in South Africa are the main bread winners and, when they pass away, families often struggle to even get their bodies home. We want to help them if they are our customers in South Africa. All they would need to do is to use Econet Wireless South Africa. If they call home, we would analyse how much they spend on calls to Zimbabwe, as that is part of our income here, said Mberi.
The push by Econet Wireless into the diaspora began last year and the companys South African sister company has already sold more than 500 000 SIM cards in that country. Meanwhile, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Chief Executive Officer, Douglas Mboweni has described the response to Ecolife as one of the most spectacular the company has ever experienced.
We registered more than 30 000 users in the first two days, which means we should have most people registered by Christmas. This is quite spectacular, as it means Zimbabweans will have the same level of insurance cover as some of the most advanced economies, even ahead of South Africa, Mboweni. He said the partnership with First Mutual Life to offer insurance service was one of many such partnerships planned for the future.
Mboweni issued a general invitation to other companies to approach Econet to partner for other services. Econet has a network that reaches millions of consumers and we want to use that network as a platform to offer other services. You can partner with us to provide banking services or make bill payments. We are open to listen to new ideas that are innovative and make life easier and more cost effective for our customers, he said.
Post published in: News