Agreement Includes Commitment to Enroll a Minimum of 20 Million Additional Subscribers to Tingo Mobile’s Agri-Fintech Platforms
MONTVALE, NJ, Oct. 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MICT, Inc. (NASDAQ: MICT) (“MICT”) and Tingo, Inc. (OTC Markets: TMNA) (“Tingo” or the “Company”), at present introduced that Tingo Mobile PLC (“Tingo Mobile”), which is being wholly acquired underneath a Merger Agreement with MICT (the “Business Combination”), has signed a commerce settlement with the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), the umbrella physique of the 56 acknowledged commodities and agricultural associations in Nigeria. Under the phrases of the settlement, AFAN has dedicated so as to add a minimal of 20 million further subscribers, which might greater than triple Tingo Mobile’s present buyer base of 9.3 million. These new subscribers can be comprised principally of homeowners of small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises all through the nation.
Tingo Mobile will present the brand new AFAN subscribers with its full vary of value-added services and products underneath its confirmed business mannequin and fintech platforms, together with:
- Tingo branded smartphones (in partnership with a number of handset producers);
- Access to the Nwassa Agri-Fintech market platform, permitting subscribers to commerce their produce;
- Access to the TingoPay Fintech super-app, permitting subscribers to buy airtime, information, telephony providers and cellular phone insurance, and likewise make the most of TingoPay’s cellular pockets providers, utility invoice fee service and micro-loan amenities;
- Visa-Tingo debit and bank cards;
- Access to a variety of agricultural merchandise and instruments, together with, for instance, farming tools, seeds, fertilizer and pesticides;
- Access to warehousing, transport and storage amenities; and
- Opportunities to wholesale produce domestically and nationally, and/or export surplus produce, with out struggling a number of layers of middle-men prices.
The enrollment of AFAN’s members with Tingo Mobile is anticipated to have a cloth impression on Tingo Mobile’s revenues and profitability. By method of reference, from its present base of 9.3 million clients, Tingo Mobile generated revenues of $525.7 million, gross revenue of $317.4 million and revenue earlier than tax of $298.4 million through the six months ended June 30, 2022 (as beforehand reported inside Tingo Inc.’s Q2 2022 Form 10-Q). During this era, $252.4 million, or roughly 48.0% of the Company’s whole income, was derived from service charges generated by means of the Nwassa Agri-Fintech platform.
Having branches in all 36 states of Nigeria, AFAN’s imaginative and prescient is to make Nigeria a nation the place sustainable agriculture is the bedrock and core basis of its thriving economy and technique of livelihood. As a part of its technique, AFAN not too long ago introduced a nationwide program and dedication to register all farmers throughout Nigeria, which it believes may develop the AFAN membership base to as many as 40 million farmers by 2024 with the potential to succeed in 60 million thereafter. As a part of its relationship with AFAN, Tingo Mobile has dedicated to make use of its platforms and agri-fintech and fintech know-how to help AFAN in attaining its targets and to help in tackling the problems confronted by Nigeria’s farming neighborhood.
Dozy Mmobuosi, Tingo Founder and CEO, commented: “Over the past two decades, we have steadily built Tingo Mobile to support our loyal customer base of 9.3 million farmers, including more recently through the introduction of our Nwassa agri-fintech platform and our TingoPay fintech platform.
Many years ago, we made a commitment to adopt the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as guiding principles, as part of which we are devoted and determined to finding solutions that will meaningfully contribute towards ending food insecurity, hunger, malnutrition, poverty, unemployment and rural under-development, amongst others.
We are incredibly excited to expand our customer base to include the members of AFAN, not least as we aim to empower such members through our technology, for example, by helping them to increase crop-yields and better commercialize their agricultural products in both the national and global markets. Having today significantly further strengthened our position in Nigeria, our goal is to roll-out the Tingo Mobile model to other countries where we will continue to focus our efforts on these underserved agricultural producers and small business owners around the world.”
Darren Mercer, Chief Executive Officer of MICT, commented: “The Board of MICT and I are hugely impressed with the remarkable achievement of Dozy Mmobuosi and his team in winning this significantly important and valuable contract. The more than tripling of customer numbers that the agreement with AFAN is expected to deliver, will undoubtedly have a substantial impact on Tingo Mobile’s revenues and profitability, both in the near term and beyond.
From the leading market position that Tingo Mobile has achieved in Nigeria, we intend to replicate this same business model in other countries, assisted by Tingo Mobile’s pan-African partnership with Visa.
As stated within our announcement of October 7, 2022, we expect that MICT will become very profitable, immediately from the date of closing of the merger, and Today’s Announcement will only enhance future profitability. Today’s contract further underlines the Board’s considerable confidence in the substantial value that the Tingo acquisitions brings to our stockholders.”
Farouk Rabiu Mudi, National President, AFAN, commented “The agreement signed today between AFAN and Tingo Mobile is an important step in the revolution of the agricultural business of Nigeria. It further demonstrates our commitment to forging strong partnerships with world leading private sector companies like Tingo, with whom our mission and goals are aligned. The strategic partnership and business relationship with Tingo, which will improve access to capital, inputs, machinery, and markets, will undoubtedly have a hugely positive impact on quality of produce, yield and the welfare of our farmers. This will go a long way towards creating sustainable jobs, guaranteeing food security and increasing Agro Produce export.
At AFAN, we are committed to finding ways to use technological solutions to increase farmer output and market efficiency throughout Nigeria. We are confident we have found a best-in-class partner in Tingo and that this is the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship, which will pay dividends for Nigerian farmers and the whole of Nigeria.”
Auwal Maude, CEO – Tingo Mobile PLC, commented on the settlement “The signing of the agreement between Tingo and AFAN marks a significant expansion in Tingo’s network and operations. We are confident that by bringing AFAN’s members into the Tingo ecosystem we will create better economic opportunities for them, helping them produce better quality food and consistently higher yields. This in turn means the farmers will generate higher revenues each harvest, then through our offtake agreements and Nwassa platform, we aim to elevate the farmer up the value chain and enable them to earn more from their work.
Addressing the challenges faced by Nigeria’s farmers remains a core priority for us at Tingo. In line with our mission, we are committed to innovating and developing new ways to increase the capacity, crop yield and quality of life of all our smallholder farmers across the country.”
Chris Cleverly, Tingo President, in attendance on the signing ceremony in Abuja, commented: “In times of humanitarian crisis, both global and local, we recognize more than ever the importance of working with key organizations in the agricultural sector, such as AFAN, and bringing technology, value-added services and finance to farmers. Food security is a major priority for every government throughout the world, for both national and international security. We look forward to a strong and deep relationship with AFAN, bringing together all major co-operatives and commodity associations onto our trading platform and smartphone applications, with the aim of powering an agricultural revolution that can feed all Africa, and ultimately all impoverished countries in the world.”
About MICT
MICT is a monetary know-how business principally centered on the expansion and improvement of a collection of shopper fintech providers throughout roughly 130 cities in China, with deliberate growth into further markets. MICT has developed extremely scalable proprietary platforms for insurance merchandise (B2B, B2B2C and B2C) and monetary providers/merchandise (B2C), the know-how for which is extremely adaptable for different purposes 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 supply securities advisory and asset administration providers. MICT additionally has memberships/registrations with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the requisite Hong Kong and China Direct clearing firms. MICT’s monetary providers business and first monetary providers product, the Magpie Invest app, is ready to commerce securities on NASDAQ, NYSE, TMX, HKSE, China Stock Connect, LSE, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the Paris Stock Exchange.
About Tingo
Tingo is the main Agri-Fintech firm working in Africa, with a market platform that empowers social upliftment by means of cellular, know-how and monetary entry for rural farming communities. Tingo’s novel “device as a service” mannequin permits it so as to add market main purposes to allow clients to commerce, purchase prime ups, pay payments, entry insurance and lending providers. With 9.3 million present clients, Tingo is in search of to develop its operations throughout choose markets in Africa. Tingo’s strategic plan is to turn into the eminent Pan-African Agri-Fintech business delivering social upliftment and monetary inclusion to tens of millions of SME farmers and women-led companies.
Tingo, together with its subsidiary Tingo Mobile, provides its complete platform service by means of use of smartphones – ‘device as a service’ (utilizing GSM know-how) — to empower a market to allow subscribers/farmers inside and out of doors of the agricultural sector to handle their business actions of rising and promoting their manufacturing to market contributors each domestically and internationally. The ecosystem gives a ‘one stop shop’ resolution to allow such subscribers to handle every little thing from airtime prime ups, invoice pay providers for utilities and different service suppliers, entry to insurance providers and micro finance to help their worth chain from ‘seed to sale’.
As of June 30, 2022, Tingo had roughly 9.3 million subscribers utilizing its cellphones and Nwassa platform. Nwassa is Africa’s main digital agriculture ecosystem that empowers rural farmers and agri-businesses by utilizing proprietary know-how to allow entry to markets during which they function. Farm produce will be shipped from farms throughout Africa to any a part of the world, in each retail and wholesale portions. Nwassa’s fee gateway additionally has an escrow construction that creates belief between patrons and sellers. Tingo’s system gives real-time pricing, straight from the farms, eliminating middlemen. Tingo’s customers pay for produce purchased utilizing out there pricing on its platform.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made herein include, and sure oral statements made by representatives of MICT and Tingo and their respective associates, every now and then could include, “forward-looking statements” inside the which means of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. MICT’s and Tingo’s precise outcomes could differ from their expectations, estimates and projections and consequently, you shouldn’t depend on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future occasions. Words equivalent to “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “might” and “continues,” and comparable expressions are supposed to determine such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements embrace, with out limitation, MICT’s and Tingo’s expectations with respect to future efficiency and anticipated monetary impacts of the Business Combination, the satisfaction of the closing situations to the Business Combination and the timing of the completion of the Business Combination. These forward-looking statements contain important dangers and uncertainties that might trigger precise outcomes to vary materially from anticipated outcomes. Most of those elements are exterior of the management of MICT or Tingo and are tough to foretell. Factors which will trigger such variations embrace however aren’t restricted to: (1) the prevalence of any occasion, change or different circumstances that might give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement (as outlined under); (2) the lack to finish the Business Combination, together with because of the failure to acquire approval of the stockholders of MICT or Tingo or different situations to closing within the Merger Agreement; (3) the lack to acquire or preserve the itemizing of MICT’s widespread inventory on Nasdaq following the Business Combination; (4) the danger that the Business Combination disrupts present plans and operations of Tingo or MICT because of the announcement and consummation of the Business Combination; (5) the flexibility to acknowledge the anticipated advantages of the Business Combination, which can be affected by, amongst different issues, competitors, the flexibility of the mixed firm to develop and handle progress economically and rent and retain key staff; (7) the lack to finish the Business Combination attributable to incapacity to acquire regulatory approval; (8) adjustments in relevant legal guidelines or laws; (10) the chance that MICT or Tingo could also be adversely affected by different financial, business, and/or aggressive elements; and (11) the impression of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic on any of the foregoing dangers and different dangers and uncertainties to be recognized within the proxy assertion/prospectus (when out there) referring to the Business Combination, together with these underneath “Risk Factors” therein, and in different filings with the SEC made by MICT and Tingo. The foregoing checklist of things just isn’t unique. Readers are referred to the newest reviews filed with the SEC by MICT and Tingo. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which converse solely as of the date made. MICT and Tingo undertake no obligation to replace or revise the forward-looking statements, whether or not because of new info, future occasions or in any other case, topic to relevant legislation.
No Solicitation
This Press Release doesn’t represent 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 assertion of MICT in reference to Business Combination. The definitive proxy assertion and different related paperwork will likely be mailed to stockholders of MICT as of a document date to be established for voting on the Business Combination. Stockholders of MICT and different individuals are suggested to learn, when out there, the preliminary proxy assertion, and amendments thereto, and the definitive proxy assertion in reference to MICT’s solicitation of proxies for the particular assembly to be held to approve the Business Combination as a result of these paperwork will include vital details about MICT, Tingo and the Business Combination. Stockholders may also have the ability to receive copies of the proxy assertion, with out cost, as soon as out there, on the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov.
Tingo intends to file with the SEC a preliminary info assertion of Tingo in reference to Business Combination. The definitive info assertion and different related paperwork will likely be mailed to stockholders of Tingo as of a document date to be established for voting on the Business Combination. Stockholders of Tingo and different individuals are suggested to learn, when out there, the preliminary proxy assertion, and amendments thereto, and the definitive info assertion as a result of these paperwork will include vital details about Tingo, MICT and the Business Combination. Stockholders may also have the ability to receive copies of the info assertion, with out cost, as soon as out there, on the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov.
Participants within the Solicitation
MICT and Tingo and sure of their respective administrators, govt officers, different members of administration and staff, underneath SEC guidelines, could also be deemed to be contributors within the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of MICT in favor of the approval of the Business Combination.
Additional info relating to the pursuits of such potential contributors may also be included within the Proxy Statement and different related paperwork when they’re filed with the SEC. Free copies of those paperwork could also be obtained as described within the previous paragraph.
MICT Inc. Contact Information
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (201) 225-0190
Tingo, Inc. Contact Information
Rory Bowen
Chief of Staff – Tingo, Inc.
[email protected]
