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Safaricom, Kenya’s leading mobile network operator, has partnered with digital lender Pezesha to introduce a new credit service for small business owners. This addition, named Mkopo wa Pochi, complements Safaricom’s existing loan products like M-Shwari and Fuliza, providing a new avenue for small businesses to access funds directly through their M-PESA business accounts.
Mkopo wa Pochi is now available via an update to Safaricom’s M-PESA super app, enriching the suite of financial tools offered to entrepreneurs. This new service works alongside Pochi la Biashara, Safaricom’s business wallet designed specifically for small business owners.
This collaboration marks Pezesha’s entry into Kenya’s mobile money market through a strategic alliance with Safaricom, which boasts over 32.4 million active M-PESA users. By leveraging Safaricom’s extensive customer base and Pezesha’s expertise in digital lending, Mkopo wa Pochi aims to provide a robust financial solution to small businesses.
Pochi la Biashara, which currently supports over 632,000 active merchants, processed transactions worth $564 million (KES 73 billion) and generated $6 million (KES 800 million) in revenue between March 2023 and March 2024. Pezesha, known for its innovative credit partnerships with companies like Marketforce, Kyosk App, and Rocket Health, brings its digital lending prowess to this collaboration.
The Mkopo wa Pochi loan service features a one-time access fee of 2.76% on the borrowed amount. Borrowers have a 7-day repayment term, with an optional 7-day extension available. Extending the loan incurs a one-time fee of 3.85% for the entire 14-day period, and late repayments are subject to a 1% daily penalty for up to 7 days.
Pezesha will evaluate the creditworthiness of Pochi la Biashara customers using a range of tools, including credit bureaus that list loan defaulters.
“Pezesha may conduct a credit assessment based on various sources, including but not limited to your business transaction history with Safaricom, your mobile money account transaction history, your credit information from the Credit Reference Bureau, your usage history of the product, and prevailing market conditions,” Safaricom explains in the product’s terms and conditions.
In May 2024, Pezesha received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to enhance its credit scoring technology. This followed an $11 million pre-Series A funding round in 2022, led by Women’s World Banking Capital Partners II.
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