By a Correspondent
London, United Kingdom: Pan-African fintech M-KOPA, has reached 10 million customers, marking a major milestone in its expansion across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.
The company reached its first one million customers in 2020 after eight years of operations.
Since entering smartphone financing in 2020, M-KOPA has added nine million more customers across its five markets in just six years, reflecting a marked acceleration in customer growth.
The company is now adding 10,000 new customers daily. The milestone reflects growing demand for M-KOPA’s “More than a Phone” platform, which combines smartphone financing with embedded insurance, credit and device protection at the point of purchase.
M-KOPA was built for what it calls “Every Day Earners”: the traders, boda riders, tailors and shopkeepers who generate income daily but remain invisible to conventional financial services. Where traditional banks saw only risk, M-KOPA saw an opportunity to provide an economically active population with innovative products and services designed around daily livelihoods.
Nine in 10 independently surveyed M-KOPA customers say that M-KOPA products have improved their lives. “Every Day Earners have always been creditworthy. What they needed was credit built around how they really make a living, not a payslip. Informal has never meant unviable. 10 million customers on, that’s no longer a belief. It’s proven,” said Jesse Moore, Co-Founder and CEO of M-KOPA.
The addressable opportunity remains vast. Nearly nine in 10 workers in sub-Saharan Africa earn their living in the informal economy. By 2040, Africa is projected to have among the largest populations of non-salaried, economically active adults in the world, the core market M-KOPA is built to serve. In Kenya, the company opened the continent’s largest smartphone assembly factory in 2023.
The facility employs more than 400 people, has achieved global ISO certification, and has produced more than 3.3 million devices to date. Growth beyond East Africa has also accelerated. Nigeria became the fastest market in MKOPA’s history to surpass one million customers. The company’s reach is supported by Africa’s largest direct sales distribution network, with more than 40,000 agents across five countries.
M-KOPA’s revenue has grown at an average annual rate of 50% since 2020. The company has been named to the Financial Times’ Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies list for five consecutive years and to CNBC’s World’s Top Fintech Companies list for the second consecutive year.
“Every Day Earners are why we do this. From our very first customer to this year’s ten millionth, this is proof that a model built for Africa’s Every Day Earners doesn’t just work, it scales and endures. It’s a proud moment for our team, and we’re already looking to the next 10 million,” said M-KOPA CFO Faraimose Kutadzaushe.
About M-KOPA
M-KOPA is a leading inclusive fintech that transforms traditional barriers into opportunities for inclusive growth across Africa. Where others see obstacles in providing credit to those without formal salaries or credit histories, M-KOPA has built Africa’s leading smart money platform that starts with financing a smartphone, processes over 2 million payments daily, and has unlocked over $2 billion in credit.
Operating across five African markets, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa, MKOPA provides affordable asset financing (smartphones and e-motorbikes) and digital financial services to micro-entrepreneurs excluded from traditional financial services.
M-KOPA smartphones become gateways to comprehensive digital financial services through their embedded services platform, with micro-repayment models that mirror how Every Day Earners actually earn and spend.
M-KOPA has been named to the Financial Times’ Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies list for five consecutive years and to CNBC’s World’s Top Fintech Companies for the second consecutive year, delivered through Africa’s largest direct sales distribution network of more than 40,000 agents. For more information, visit M-KOPA.com. For media queries please contact Reatile Tekateka/ press@m-kopa.com
