NAIROBI, Kenya — Pan-African fintech company M-KOPA has surpassed 10 million customers, underscoring the rapid growth of digital financial services targeting millions of informal workers across Africa.
The milestone comes six years after the company reached its first one million customers in 2020, with the fintech adding another nine million customers across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa as demand for smartphone financing and digital credit continues to rise.
The company says it is now onboarding approximately 10,000 new customers every day, driven by its platform that combines smartphone financing with embedded credit, insurance and device protection.
M-KOPA Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jesse Moore said the growth reflects increasing confidence among informal sector workers, many of whom have traditionally been excluded from conventional banking services.
“Everyday earners have always been creditworthy. What they needed was financial products designed around how they actually earn a living rather than traditional lending requirements such as payslips,” Moore said.
The company primarily serves traders, boda boda riders, small-scale retailers, tailors and other micro-entrepreneurs whose incomes are generated daily but who often lack access to formal credit.
According to M-KOPA, independent customer surveys show that nine out of ten users believe its products have improved their livelihoods by expanding access to financial services.
Beyond East Africa
The fintech’s growth has accelerated beyond its traditional East African market.
Nigeria has become M-KOPA’s fastest-growing market, reaching one million customers in the shortest time since the company’s expansion into West Africa.
Its operations are supported by a direct sales network of more than 40,000 agents operating across five African countries.
In Kenya, M-KOPA also established what it describes as Africa’s largest smartphone assembly facility in 2023.
Located in Nairobi, the factory employs more than 400 workers, has received international ISO certification and has assembled more than 3.3 million smartphones, supporting local manufacturing while improving access to affordable smart devices.
Growing Digital Finance Market
The company says nearly 90 per cent of workers in sub-Saharan Africa earn their incomes through the informal economy, presenting significant opportunities for financial institutions developing products tailored to non-salaried workers.
M-KOPA’s revenue has grown by an average of 50 per cent annually since 2020, while the company has consistently featured among the Financial Times’ Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies and CNBC’s World’s Top Fintech Companies.
Chief Financial Officer Faraimose Kutadzaushe attributed the milestone to the company’s focus on serving customers often overlooked by traditional financial institutions.
“This milestone demonstrates that financial products designed for Africa’s everyday earners can scale while creating meaningful economic opportunities for millions of people,” he said.
Driving Financial Inclusion
Across Africa, fintech companies have increasingly stepped in to bridge financing gaps by offering digital loans, smartphone financing, mobile payments and savings products tailored to informal workers and micro-enterprises.
Analysts say growing smartphone adoption, mobile money penetration and digital lending are transforming access to financial services for millions previously excluded from the formal banking sector, helping small businesses invest, expand and participate more fully in the digital economy.
