BAMENDA, CAMEROON – Mdubila Pascaline, 29, is a journalist in Bamenda, a city in northwestern Cameroon. She says she sends some of the money she earns to her mother – simply by using her cell phone.

Her mother lives in Mbiame, a remote village that is more than five hours away from Bamenda by car. She does not have a bank account, but she can collect money from her daughter with just her phone.

“It’s very efficient and cost-effective,” Pascaline says.