Mobile operator Sotelma-Malitel signed last week a partnership agreement with the National Employment Agency (ANPE). Through this agreement, Sotelma-Malitel will create 2,000 jobs in Bamako, Mali, via its mobile money transfer service, MobiCash. Director General of Sotelma-Malitel, Mohamed Morchid, said the partnership will give a new dynamic to Mali’s strategy to fight youth unemployment and poverty.

Sotelma-Malitel said it will provide the necessary technical and financial assistance for the project’s concretization. In its first stage, the partnership will result in the establishment of 200 kiosks in Bamako. Besides addressing the unemployment issue, the initiative will see the expansion of the operator’s mobile money transfer service. The service will thus be accessible to more people, thereby participating in the financial inclusion of a larger portion of the population.

Aside expanding MobiCash service, Sotelma-Malitel, according to its Director General, has various incoming projects targeting youth. “These are part of a large multiform project supporting Mali’s youth in the entrepreneurship, culture, new technologies and other sectors,” said Mohamed Morchid.