M-KOPA

Expected Development Impact

Creating good-quality jobs across Africa: The fintech company’s full-time staff more than doubled since 2019, with M-KOPA currently employing approximately 2000 staff. Additionally, M-KOPA sales agents have more than quadrupled since 2019, to approximately 15,000.
Economic contribution: M-KOPA generates direct economic value in its markets through the payment of salaries to employees and commissions to sales agents.
Domestic manufacturing supply chain development: In line with the ICT ministry’s plan to foster digital inclusion for all Kenyans, M-KOPA launched its first local smartphone assembly to provide affordable access to smart devices in Kenya, whilst enabling growth in jobs in its supply chain.
Linkages with downstream service providers: M-KOPA leverages its partnerships with telcos and manufacturers to provide additional value for money for our customers. For example, phone customers in Kenya and Uganda get 50MB daily as part of their financing plan - that’s $50 of additional value at no additional cost to the customer. This makes the proposition compelling and ensures customers get an internet-enabled device and basic internet access.

M-KOPA generates direct economic value in its markets through the payment of salaries to employees and commissions to sales agents.

Creating good-quality jobs for women: 47% of M-KOPA’s employees are women. M-KOPA employs a significant proportion of women in leadership (43%) which is expected to grow further over the coming 3-5 years. Women employees can access training opportunities and other benefits such as healthcare, pension, and maternity leave.
Supporting digital and financial inclusion for women: 31% of women report as the primary user of an M-KOPA product. In Kenya, where the company has focussed on improving gender inclusion through implementing interventions to curb attrition among female sales agenda, the proportion of M-KOPA phone customers who are women has grown steadily from 30% to 37% over the past 3 years.

CO2 mitigation: More than 3.5 million people are impacted by clean, modern energy. More than 1 million rural homes now live without the immediate health and safety threats of lanterns and have avoided 5 billion cumulative hours of breathing toxin-laden air. M-KOPA’s current fleet helps avoid over 2 million metric tonnes of CO2 and black carbon avoided from entering the climate and contributing to the reduction of kerosene use by households by introducing more than 300,000 energy-efficient appliances into previously off-grid homes.