By Ben Musanje
Airtel Money customers can now register for the National Social Security Fund (NSSF)’s Smartlife Flexi voluntary savings product and make contributions directly through their mobile phones, as the two institutions strengthen their partnership to promote long-term saving among Ugandans.
The partnership is designed to make voluntary social security savings more convenient and accessible, particularly for Ugandans in the informal and emerging workforce whose incomes may come daily, weekly or irregularly.
Under the arrangement, Airtel Money customers can access NSSF services through the Airtel USSD platform, register for Smartlife Flexi and contribute whenever they have money available, eliminating the need to physically visit an NSSF service centre.
Airtel Money Head of Operations Hope Ekudu, who represented Airtel Mobile Money Managing Director Japhet Aritho at the partnership event, said the mobile-based solution is intended to help Ugandans develop a culture of long-term saving.
“I have experienced the product, so I am a Smartlife customer. I have two accounts and what I love about the product is that it pushes you into the culture of saving long-term because you cannot access it for a year,” Ekudu said.
She said flexible saving options are particularly important for Ugandans who do not earn fixed monthly salaries, including people involved in business, farming, transport and other income-generating activities.
“For these Ugandans, saving must be flexible, convenient and accessible,” she said.
Ekudu said Airtel’s customer base of more than 20 million provides a significant platform for extending digital savings services to more Ugandans.
“Airtel Uganda’s network of over 20 million customers provides a powerful platform to support that ambition and brings a digital saving solution closer to millions of Ugandans,” she said.
She added that the partnership forms part of Airtel’s broader financial inclusion efforts, arguing that access to financial services should extend beyond payments to helping people plan for their future.
“At Airtel Money, we believe financial inclusion goes beyond providing payment services. It’s about creating opportunities for people to plan, save and build a better future for themselves and their families,” she said.
NSSF Deputy Managing Director Gerald Paul Kasaato said the partnership builds on growing demand for flexible savings products among Ugandans who are outside mandatory employer-based social security arrangements.
Kasaato said NSSF research conducted in 2021 found that many Ugandans wanted to save but lacked products suited to their circumstances.
“Many Ugandans indeed wanted to save, but there were not enough products,” he said.
Amendments to the NSSF law in 2022 subsequently provided for voluntary savings, paving the way for products aimed at workers and other Ugandans who do not fall under mandatory social security arrangements.
NSSF launched Smartlife Flexi in November 2024, allowing members to save according to their financial capacity and income patterns.
Members can contribute as little as Shs500 and make payments weekly, monthly or whenever they have money available.
“You can save 500 shillings any time. You can save at your convenience. You can save monthly, weekly,” Kasaato said.
The product has attracted nearly Shs200 billion in savings, according to Kasaato, with about 100,000 members enrolled as of the previous week.
Mobile money has emerged as the dominant channel for the product, with 97% of Smartlife Flexi savers making contributions through mobile money accounts.
NSSF has also paid out more than Shs50 billion to members since the product was introduced, with 92% of those payments made through mobile money accounts.
Kasaato said the figures demonstrate the importance of digital channels in expanding access to voluntary savings.
“We believe that as we continue to innovate, as we continue to bring more savers into the savings brackets, a partnership like this will go a long way in making it easy for our members to save,” he said.
Smartlife Flexi allows members to save towards a range of goals, including education, healthcare and starting businesses, while encouraging disciplined long-term saving.
The partnership is particularly aimed at Uganda’s informal workforce, where irregular incomes and the absence of conventional employer-based pension arrangements can make traditional saving models less practical.
By integrating Smartlife Flexi into Airtel Money, the two institutions aim to make saving part of everyday financial activity, allowing customers to put money aside whenever they receive income rather than relying solely on fixed monthly contributions.
Airtel and NSSF said the partnership demonstrates how technology and strategic collaboration can expand financial inclusion, improve access to voluntary social security and help Ugandans build greater financial resilience.
The institutions said they will continue working together to encourage more Ugandans to embrace voluntary savings and secure their financial future through Smartlife Flexi. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
