While browsing a few online news sites, I came across an article published on the Connectionivoirienne.net site on January 17, 2022 and signed ‘Douglas Mountain, Le Cercle des Réflexions Libérales’. [Did the Ivory Coast make a "false calculation" by allowing the installation of Wave? – Connectionivoirienne.net]. The analysis made and the argument developed by the author of the article caught my attention in a disapproving sense. What motivates this contribution. To summarize the author's thoughts, the arrival of Wave on the electronic money transfer market is globally and ultimately unfavorable to the Ivorian economy. Five ideas structure his argument:

1. The 1% rate now adopted by all operators makes mobile money a non-profitable activity; because the margin, according to him, not sufficient, causes a loss or a precariousness of jobs in the sector.2. The contribution of the overall turnover of the mobile money sector to GDP will decline due to the fall in transaction costs, not compensated by an increase in their volume.3. The three pre-existing operators on the market make significant investments each year and maintain their infrastructures, unlike Wave.4. It is a mistake to privilege the consumer at the expense of business and growth.5. The Ivorian government did the wrong thing to authorize the activities of Wave.

Reading this article, some points for reflection emerge: – Who should ultimately and essentially benefit from growth, the creation of wealth in an economy, in a nation? To a few legal entities representing the interests of wealthy groups of individuals, or to the population as a whole? – Is this an article commissioned by an actor in the sector? The fall of the article says it all: “It is said that Wave is in discussion for approval in mobile telephony. It is to be hoped that this time the Ivorian authorities will show discernment. This is an invitation to the Ivorian authorities not to grant a license or any other request for commercial purposes made by Wave. Which is an implicit and suggestive reformulation of the saying: 'passed once, but will not pass twice'. Let's see together the weaknesses of the text:

1. The assertion that the 1% rate now adopted by all mobile money operators causes a loss or precariousness of jobs in the sector is untrue with regard to the continuation and operationalities of the activity. Indeed, if the three other operators go down to 1% transaction costs and even less for large amounts, it is good because they find a certain profitability there, certainly less than what they earned before. -field (transfer managers in the districts) also find their account there. As proof, the large number of money transfer signs, in particular with the 'penguin' in front of businesses, and the maintenance of most intermediaries in the business. It should be added that whatever the remuneration mechanism in force (volume or number of daily, weekly, monthly transfers; split ranges of transfers), managers in the neighborhoods were already grumbling about the low rate paid to them. These were not the main beneficiaries of the 5% and other percentages previously instituted by the various operators, but the latter. In addition, experience has shown that many managers whose exclusive activity was the national transfer of money quickly closed. Almost all transfer managers do not carry out the sole activity of mobile money transfer, but carry out some other parallel activity simultaneously (transfer of communication units, telephone calls, sales of other products or services related or not to telephony mobile, etc.). According to many managers the remuneration with Wave is generally, however slightly, more interesting. The existence of exclusive (re)distributors by zone (partners to whom the Orange and MTN operators refer the managers) reduces the profit margin of the managers, because these (re)distributors receive a percentage on each transaction carried out. He speaks of "22,000 people affected in the district of Abidjan alone", without citing the source of this data or the measurement technique used, namely whether it is a reflection of a sampling carried out and therefore then generalized or of an accounting on a case-by-case basis. per case. Furthermore, there is a nuance between being affected and being targeted by a situation. In measuring the limited impact of a phenomenon, we are interested in the direct targets of the action, while in the broader impact we also include the people affected, that is to say indirectly affected. To take a simple example, with a cabin manager who has a wife and three children, the target here is the manager, but the people affected are five in number (the manager himself plus his wife and three children), the latter obtaining their sustenance from him. So if it were true that 22,000 are 'affected' how many are actually targeted by this situation?

In the name of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which has become part of our habits today, some companies in the sector deduct a small percentage from their profit margins for certain actions taken in favor of local populations (infrastructure and equipment, schools , health centres, professional support, etc.). From this perspective of aid and CSR, it is not a bad thing to generalize social assistance to the entire Ivorian population, which is mainly made up of poor people, by reducing costs, instead of ad hoc aid to a few localities or individuals. One point to remember is that all of these operators, without exception, are multinationals that repatriate funds to their home country. The creation of jobs for the population is a duty for the State and not for economic operators who are above all individuals pursuing their interests like any other person.

2. The fall in the price of a product resulting in an increase in its consumption, electronic money transfers are no exception to the principle. Indeed, the volume of amounts transferred will experience a significant increase more and more precisely due to the low cost of the fees (and even more so if the fees became zero). Many people will think more about: • Transferring money, rather than making more or less short trips [why, for example, spend 2,000 F for transport, while the 100,000 F to give me can be transferred to me for only 1,000 F (or 1,100 F) in fees in addition to wasting hours in traffic]; • Deposit more money in their account(s), given the absence or the low cost of withdrawal. This avoids having to keep money on you for security reasons, especially when traveling in the provinces (system of 'deposit on departure and withdrawal on site on arrival'). • The low cost of withdrawal, in addition to booths that are everywhere, also leads people to avoid the requirements of traditional banks as much as possible: long lines, non-compliant signature problems, distance to the nearest bank branch or ATM, unavailability of funds in these counters, magnetic cards swallowed, etc. This rush towards deposits and money transfers due to the drop in transaction costs has a fourfold positive consequence: – The arrival of new transfer managers in the trade, with in particular those who see the light of day thanks to Wave (not to mention the many recruited salespeople who criss-cross the streets): jobs. overall amount of taxes also increased with the multiplication of deposits and transfers. – Greater availability of 'liquidity' (financial reserve) among operators in the sector; understood that any deposit or transfer of money is not immediately followed by withdrawal , a more or less long time may indeed elapse. However, in matters of business, this is not negligible.3. The investments of the three pre-existing operators on the market relate more to the mobile communication activity than anything else. The maintenance of GSM transmission equipment and stations (antennas) relates in particular to communication. It is important to emphasize that the transfer of money is not the reason for the establishment and has never been the first and main activity of the mobile telephone companies. It is only a complement to the 'natural' services of operators, in a good logic of diversification of offers and activities specific to any ambitious company.

When mobile telephony was introduced in Côte d’Ivoire in October 1996, and for several years, a single minute of telephone call to a booth cost 600 Francs. Where today we are offered about ten minutes plus other services (internet and SMS) at 150 francs, and at the cabin 50 F or even 25 F per minute of communication: from 600/min to 25/min; a division of the cost by 24, you read correctly 'by twenty-four', i.e. a reduction of almost 96%. Crucially, cabin managers have not disappeared. They still operate, except that the drop in their activities with regard to telephone calls is linked to the possibilities of direct, personal subscription by each holder of a SIM card. If the operators reaped astronomical profits with the minute at 600 francs in its time, how many cabin managers were millionaires in terms of earnings, taking advantage of the exceptional margins of the industry?

Rates decreased very slowly over the years. The arrival of Moov in 2006 also shifted the costs in favor of the populations. This means that the drop in costs is not "sinister" for the sector, which continues to generate significant figures with more subscribers, more offers, etc. It is about adapting to the fire of competition lit or rekindled by the newcomer Wave by offering new products and services and competitive prices. A crisis equals creativity and opportunities, as much as strong competition calls for innovation. The 'forces or threats' theorized by Michael Eugène Porter in 1979 are topical. In particular, that relating to the challenge linked to the entry of a new operator. Already that there were echoes from Senegal, one or other of the operators (Orange, MTN, Moov) could have strategically nipped in the bud the dynamic entry of the new competitor by breaking the cost to 1% and less before its effective establishment in Côte d'Ivoire. This would have had the effect of diluting, drowning the campaign and the competitiveness of Wave upstream. Negligence and overconfidence have rather led to trivializing the estimated impact of the entrant. And surprise, the vertiginous and unforeseen fall of the receipts pushed to revise the costs downwards, but on the late stage since Wave has/had already won a not insignificant market share. The pre-existing less consumer-friendly ecosystem has been disrupted. The lower revenue on transaction costs can however be offset by focusing on other products (example: fiber optics).4. Mr. Douglas Mountain (presumably a synonym) argues that it is a mistake to privilege the consumer at the expense of business and growth. “Incrediblebut written” as the other would say. Obviously he is a follower of 'impoverishing growth', that is to say double-digit growth, perhaps three-digit growth, but which brings substantially nothing to the great number, which hardly changes the daily life of the populations, but does not benefit only to one category of individuals. Indeed, statistics can be flattering while the content of the citizen's plate is shrinking day by day. However, currently, the entire population is directly and clearly feeling the effect of the drop in transaction costs in their pockets by saving a few tickets or coins with each transaction. Should the purchasing power of the suffering masses be sacrificed for the interests of the few? Should the profit of a few thousand direct and indirect workers in a business be preferred to that of millions of people? The principle of 'levy-redistribution', one of the four economic principles theorized by Karl Polanyi (The Great Transformation, 1944), and handled by the State by collecting taxes and levies from economic entities and then redistributing them in various forms to populations is not always followed. Indeed, if the fact of having high transaction costs systematically implies a profit for the State, in terms of taxes and royalties, the population which should be the final beneficiary can unfortunately feel nothing of it. The increase in a worker's salary does not mean that his children will be better dressed or will now have the right to three meals a day, but this can be used to maintain a mistress. And it is precisely this image that the state sends back. Substantial taxation and parafiscality are not always beneficial to populations in terms of development, but are often used to make non-essential expenses. 1996 to 2000, and the related taxes levied by the State at that time did not prevent the massive indebtedness operated by the State internally and internationally (it was even during this period that Côte d'Ivoire is included in the HIPC initiative). More recently, the transaction fees and taxes applied before the arrival of Wave have not been more decisive in the daily life of the average Ivorian. the billing of the volume of calls, SMS and internet connections made, that the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority in Côte d'Ivoire (ARTCI) has limited the bonuses to 100%? This, through Decision No. 2020-0599 of September 9, 2020 in force since January 1, 2021 tactically with a view to switching consumers to more calls and other billed, therefore levied? However, no complaints had ever been registered by ARTCI from consumers or consumer associations against bonuses of 300% or more. For whom should the state and its branches work? Against the people?

5. The author criticizes the Ivorian government for having authorized the activities of Wave. a balanced redistribution of wealth, with a strong concern for the well-being and fulfillment of all its citizens, with particular attention to the most vulnerable.

Economic, political and social life is generally and traditionally inscribed in the triptych 'State, Market and Civil Society'. The State means public power, the authority that produces legal constraints and regulates life in society, in particular the economy. It is at the service of the population and does not seek profit, having the vocation of satisfying the general interest. The Market designates commercial exchanges, financial flows and economic operators whose objective is to maximize earnings and increase their profits, in a market economy (supply/demand; price/profit) and in an environment competitive. Each investor or company pursues its interests, which is normal. Civil society, on the other hand, includes all individuals (consumers) and private non-profit organizations (NGOs, etc.).

The liberalism that the author claims is a doctrine based on individual freedom and action advocating the reduction of the influence of the state. The resulting neo-liberalism calls for the deregulation of markets and freedom of trade, with an erasure of the role of the state: a 'blood economic and commercial frontierism'. In a liberal economy, in general, each company offers its prices freely while ensuring the quality of its products and services. Any increase or decrease is a reflection of technological developments, economic conditions and competitive threats. So, it is all the same curious to claim such a current of thought and call on the State to prevent any desire for a healthy commercial confrontation, rather than to simply and masterfully frame the competitive game. A normal government works for the happiness of its people and is not supposed to side with any operator or group of operators. It oversees the relational game of the market and in the market and is equidistant from the players. Rather, this kind of competition is to be desired and encouraged in many other sectors.

There is still a lot to say but we limit ourselves to these lines for the sake of brevity. Under a questioning title, but in a text with declarative and affirmative content, the author has certainly made a bad analysis and a suggestion ill-founded follow-up. Development is not against humans, but must center on humans, the well-being of the community. It is therefore rather a mistake for a State to favor companies and growth at the expense of consumers. Growth or development without humanity is an illusion of numbers.

YAPI MichelSpecialist in Development Initiatives, Managerial Strategies and Performance Evaluationsmyapi@gmail.c

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