M-KOPA unlocks $600 million in credit for Underbanked Customers in Africa

Oluwajuwonlo Afolabi -

With 56% of Africans not owning an account, not even a mobile money account, accessing assets is a gross challenge for individuals, households, and businesses, with telling impacts on small and medium businesses on the continent. This challenge affects how the unbanked and underbanked populations in this region send and receive money, get essential items, and even access digital opportunities.

To change the narrative for the better, M-KOPA, an Africa-focused fintech founded in 2011 is offering millions of people in the category described above access to life-comforting products and services, including smartphones, solar lighting, solar-powered appliances, cash loans, and health insurance by unlocking affordable credit.

The fintech reached up to two million customers served in 2020 and aims to double the number of customers on its platform in the next five years and unlock over $7 billion in credit. Since its launch, M-KOPA has recorded impacts along this line:

  • $600 million of credit unlocked for customers;
  • 4.5 million lives improved with life-changing products;
  • Over 1 million solar home systems sold, enabling the clean energy system;
  • Enabled over 1 million people to access smartphones toward digital earning and opportunities;
  • 86% of its customers reported that the fintech had improved their lives, M-KOPA claims.

The fintech currently operates in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana, with a record of growth since it expanded to West Africa in 2020/21, according to its 2021 Impact Report. It doubled its employee base between 2019 and 2021, with 944 additional jobs and grew its agents base to 10,000 within the same period, it claims.