London, UK – March 15th 2015 – Mobile payment adoption was a dominant issue of discussion amongst industry players at Mobile World Congress 2015. Upstream, the leading end-to-end m-commerce platform for growth markets via MNOs, had the opportunity to meet with existing and prospective clients, potential partners, content providers and app developers and share its vision for the growing m-commerce revolution.
This was Upstream’s 6th consecutive year at MWC, the leading event in the world for mobile technology, which broke all previous attendance records. It was the largest ever, boasting an avalanche of world premieres, and innovative releases by some of the 2,000 companies. Upstream’s meeting space captured the attention of the MWC attendees with its construction from predominantly recycled or upcycled materials destined for re-use in a different application after dismantling, that aligns with the company’s core ethics and sustainability strategy in local markets.
At the end of the four days, the company’s 20 person team, consisting of staff from 8 local hubs conducted a multitude of meetings with analysts, journalists and partners reflecting Upstream’s traction in spreading to more than 45 high growth markets and offering a unique opportunity to monetize mobile both for mobile operators and content providers or developers.
“The mobile payment opportunity is something we have seen in MWC for many years and it hasn’t yet grown to expectations. One should note that there is already such a thing as a ‘mobile wallet’ for most emerging market consumers; that is their pre-paid balance on their phone. There are approximately 5 billion consumers who use their top-up card to pay for digital goods and services” said Marco Veremis, CEO, Upstream in an on-site interview with CNBC. “We are focusing on the elements that enable marketing of apps in high growth markets using effective channels, direct carrier billing, and content localization sourcing local content producers from countries like Brazil, Nigeria, Egypt, Indonesia and others”.
Upstream’s proprietary technology platform enables mobile operators to monetise and capitalise on the demand for digital goods and services in growth markets. The business’s device agnostic approach means it designs services that can be offered through any type of consumer handset, from 0G to 4G. It is able to provide a truly local and adaptive understanding to customers through a variety mobile value added services (mVAS) and digital subscriptions. Upstream’s growing portfolio of clients includes long-standing major mobile operators like TIM, MTN and Vodafone.
Mobile World Congress 2016 will take place on 22-25 February, 2016 at Fira Gran Via. Upstream will be there as usual, so mark your calendars now! More information will be available in the coming months.
