M-KOPA surpasses 5 million customers, with 2 million coming in the last 15 months

Avatar
62% of M-KOPA users say they use their M-KOPA products to generate income
M-KOPA records $600M in Credit for Underbanked users in Africa- 2021 Report

Leading financial technology company for emerging markets, M-KOPA, today announced that it has surpassed 5 million customers across its African markets. This milestone was disclosed in a statement that was seen by Technext. According to the statement, two million of these customers have only been onboarded over the past 15 months.

The company also announced that it has been able to unlock over $1.5 billion across its major markets of Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.

Speaking about the milestone, co-founder and CEO, Jesse Moore said attaining 5 million customers is a testament to the scale of positive impact the financial technology company is having on its customers.

We are thrilled to welcome our 5 millionth customer to M-KOPA this month. The scale of our operations and our positive impact on customers is what keeps us working hard to go even further. We’re just getting started; the opportunity for much larger impact and scale is right in front of us,” he said.

Founded in 2011 by Jesse Moore, Chad Larson and Nick Hughes, M-KOPA is a UK-headquartered fintech that provides affordable smartphones and digital financial services to its users. Using an innovative financing model based on daily repayments, the fintech provides affordable smartphones embedded with financial services that fit with the cash flow of millions of underserved individuals who earn their income on a daily basis.

M-KOPA surpasses 5 million customers, with 2 million coming in the last 15 months

The company’s innovative model makes affordable smartphones embedded with financial services available to ‘Every Day Earners’: the wide majority of African adults who earn their income daily but struggle to afford smartphones and typically fail to qualify for conventional financial services. According to the World Bank, 75% of adults in sub-Saharan Africa remain financially excluded. To date, the startup says it has supported its customer base with more than US $1.5 billion in financing.

Starting with smartphone access, customers gain entry into the digital economy with an affordable daily repayment model, which fits their daily income and cash flow and makes it easier to manage. By leveraging rich payment data and proprietary AI-driven analytics, M-KOPA builds a credit record for each customer which forms the foundation for a long-term financial relationship for lower-cost digital loans, affordable data subscriptions and medical insurance.

M-KOPA Impact Report

M-KOPA also announced that it has published its 2024 Impact Report this week. The report is a document in which the company annually releases its progress against key social and environmental impact metrics. The company said that as with prior reports, the 2024 survey of M-KOPA customers was undertaken by a third-party company – Dalberg Research.

Key impact highlights from the 2024 report include that 92 per cent of its customers confirm that the fintech’s financing has made technology more affordable. 80 per cent of customers report an improved quality of life thanks to its products. 70 per cent credit the company with helping them achieve their financial goals, demonstrating its contribution to financial empowerment. 62 per cent say they use their M-KOPA products to generate income

    The company also said it is having a major impact in improving digital access in Africa as nearly 2 million customers are first-time mobile internet users and 40 per cent are women. The company said it also built the first and largest smartphone assembly factory in Kenya. This factory has produced more than 1m phones locally and further reduced the cost of access.

    TIME100: A look into M-Kopa's growing global presence and influence

    M-KOPA said its board and management use the annual impact report to help shape forward company strategy. Therefore, based on this year’s findings, the company said it is working to further increase its percentage of female customers to 50 per cent. It also plans to reduce its carbon footprint by making circularity central to its smartphone supply chain. Also, it will continue pioneering green products like electric motorbikes that contribute to the health and sustainability of the communities where it operates.

    See also: Bolt introduces electric motorcycles in Kenya in partnership with M-KOPA, Roam and Ampersand

    Chief Product Officer Nena Sanderson, said the company’s products are a means to financial prosperity for all parties involved.

    Our product and services build pathways to prosperity for our customers and agents, enabling them to overcome financial setbacks, generate income and progress towards the futures they aspire to. Our impact extends beyond our customers, reaching their families and communities, and contributing to building a more sustainable world,” Sanderson said.

    M-KOPA says it now creates employment for more than 3,000 staff and 30,000 commission-based sales agents across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. The company has been recognised by the Financial Times as one of Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies for the past 3 years, and by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Companies globally for the past 2 years.


    Technext Newsletter

    Get the best of Africa’s daily tech to your inbox – first thing every morning.
    Join the community now!

    Register for Technext Coinference 2023, the Largest blockchain and DeFi Gathering in Africa.

    Technext Newsletter

    Get the best of Africa’s daily tech to your inbox – first thing every morning.
    Join the community now!