Paying for goods and services via mobile money in Kenya is easier then most places thanks to the country’s mobile money platform, M-PESA. Launched by Safaricom in 2007 the country’s leading mobile operator has around 25% of Kenya’s GDP circulating through the system. The system allows users to open up an account where they can deposit and withdraw money at one of safaricom’s 40,000 agents typically little kiosks and it allows Kenyan’s to transfer funds between accounts. In addition, this is done without the use of the internet instead it uses a mobile network. This is extremely beneficial to Kenya as in many parts of the country people have no access to internet. Furthermore, It allows Kenyans working in the cities to send funds  to their families living in rural areas. Therefore, M-PESA is the world’s leading mobile money platform which is allowing Kenyans to transfer, deposit and withdraw funds conveniently, securely and without the use of the internet.

Around the world there are so many mobile money platforms but none of them as successful as  M-PESA and you might wonder why. There are several reasons, firstly the cost of other methods of transferring funds electronically are more expensive than M-PESA and most of them require the internet. Moreover, Safaricom has a dominant market share in the telecoms market in Kenya where majority of Kenyans are using their network. Finally, Safaricom has has a successful marketing campaign in that they target men and women working in the cities as tell them this is a easy way to send money back to their families. Therefore, M-PESA’s value proposition is providing middle class working Kenyans an easy solution to keep money safe and transferable electronically to provide connivence and peace of mind.

In my opinion M-PESA has changed the way Kenyans interact with one another and has allowed middle class Kenyans to move funds around at ease as well as pay of their bills allowing them to focus on more productive activities stimulating economic growth. Furthermore, I think M-PESA would be beneficial for the government as it allows them to monitor who is paying taxes and keep track of incomes. There is also opportunity for other services to be developed in conjunction with M-PESA such as banking services to allow Kenyans to obtain small loans via the system. There are also projects that are being developed for the government allowing Kenyans to pay their taxes, bills for electricity and water which provides connivence to the people and the government. Therefore, I personally think that M-PESA has a value proposition that is centered around providing connivence for the Kenyan people which is what they want and is the reason why it is so successful.

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Article Link: – http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/05/economist-explains-18

Picture from: – http://www.safaricom.co.ke/blog/2015/04/