MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Reach Expands in Kenya As Safaricom Capitalizes on Kenyan Government Requirement to Register All Mobile Phone Users

Kenyan mobile phone operator, Safaricom, has reported that in July 2010 it added approximately 1.7 million new customers to its money transfer system, M-Pesa. As MicroCapital reported July 27, 2010, much of the increase comes as a result of recent Kenyan government regulation which requires registration of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards by mobile phone users and that mobile phone operators in Kenya have been encouraging subscribers to simultaneously activate a mobile bank account.

Safaricom reports that M-Pesa subscriber numbers have grown by 61 percent to 11.89 million as of July 2010 from 7.38 million during July 2009. The service has transferred KES 525.84 billion (USD 6.24 billion) since its inception in 2007 and the monthly average has increased by 30 percent. Last month, KES 33 billion (USD 392 million) was transferred compared to KES 20 billion (USD 237 million) in July 2009.

In May 2009, Safaricom and Kenyan microfinance institution (MFI), Equity Bank, launched the mobile payment product, M-Kesho, which allows users to conduct banking activities, including applying for loans, paying loan balances, bank account transfers and bill paying, all from mobile phones. Safaricom reports M-Kesho currently has 455,000 users.

About Equity Bank:

Equity Bank is a microfinance bank based in Nairobi, Kenya. It provides loans, savings, and fund transfer services, and it is funded through its savings deposits and shareholder capital. It accounts for 52 percent of bank accounts in Kenya with over 4.1 million accounts. It is involved in microfinance operations not only in Kenya, but also in Southern Sudan and Uganda through its subsidiary, Equity Bank Uganda. As reported to the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Market in 2009, Equity Bank has USD 1.27 billion in total assets, a gross loan portfolio of USD 818 million and 716,000 active borrowers.

By Matthew Fox, Research Assistant

Sources and Additional Resources:

DailyNation: State’s SIM Card Listing Order Boosts M-Pesa: http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/State%20SIM%20card%20listing%20order%20boosts%20MPesa%20/-/1006/976660/-/item/0/-/p95lyaz/-/index.html

MicroCapital Brief: Regulation in Kenya’s Mobile Industry Leads to Increase in Banked Population as Phone Operators Seize Opportunity to Encourage Mobile Bank Accounts, 27 July 2010: https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-regulation-in-kenya?s-mobile-industry-leads-to-increase-in-banked-population-as-phone-operators-seize-opportunity-to-encourage-mobile-bank-accounts/

MicroCapital Universe: Equity Bank: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Equity+Bank

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