Browsing: M-Kopa

• Artificial intelligence in Africa can potentially propel the fintech industry into a new era of financial inclusion.
• AI tools can analyse data from client discussions, producing legal documents in simple language and at a fraction of what it would typically take to draft a contract.
• Banks, for example, can make their services more affordable to their customers by rolling out AI-powered chatbots to handle routine queries while sparing them from having to travel to a bank branch.

It’s difficult to imagine a time before the widespread adoption of mobile technology in Africa – particularly where financial services are concerned. For millions of unbanked people, transactions were limited to cash, postal services or even the barter system.

Now, in much the same way as mobile payments completely disrupted the status quo, AI has the potential to propel the fintech industry into a new era of financial inclusion. And perhaps most exciting …

• M-KOPA enables underbanked customers in select African markets to access a broad range of products and services without collateral or a guarantor.
• M-KOPA has raised $190 million over the past decade
• M-KOPA is known majorly for its pay-as-you-go (PAYG) financing model that allows customers to build ownership of appliances over time by paying an initial deposit followed by flexible micro-payments
• M-KOPA is looking to expand its flexible daily and weekly payments model by scaling financial services products such as health insurance, cash loans and BNPL merchant partnerships

M-KOPA began commercial sales in Kenya in October 2012 following 2 years of piloting and development.

The young startup expanded to Uganda a year later and commenced operations in Tanzania in late 2014. 

The company, led by co-founder and CEO Jesse Moore started with solar-power home systems targeted at lower-income and rural customers without electricity in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Known majorly for …

According to the Global E-Waste Monitor Report, in 2019 the world generated 53.6 million metric tonnes (Mt) of electronic waste (e-waste), and only 17.4 per cent was recycled through appropriate channels. Africa in particular lacks formal governance to support e-waste management.

Households in Africa generated 2.9 Mt of e-waste in 2019, of which only 0.9 per cent was reported to be collected and recycled by the formal sector. Discarded equipment such as phones, laptops, fridges, sensors and televisions contain substances that pose serious environmental and public health risks, particularly if treated inadequately.…

M-KOPA, the Kenyan pay-as-you-go solar company has this week completed the rollout in Kenya of its new fridges to all 65 its retail outlets. It is available as part of the company’s M-KOPA MK6500 system, with daily payments of only KSh 165.

This ground-breaking 100L fridge was developed specifically for Africa in partnership with   Embraco Nidec, a global cooling brand and part of Nidec Global Appliance. It won the Unit Cost Affordability Prize in the 2019 Global Leap Awards for off-grid appliances.

The Younma-branded fridge features Embraco’s innovative DC compressor, which provides lower starting power and greater energy efficiency, compared to a traditional model. It was developed with support from Shell Foundation in partnership with UKAID and USAID.

M-KOPA Customer, Esther Mutua says “Before I got the fridge, I was selling one [drinks] crate per week, but now, because I have a fridge, I sell two or three more crates …

Kenya’s green energy M-Kopa has revealed how it has bridged energy needs for low income earners in East Africa. The company, which boasts of clean energy stalwart Al Gore in its shareholding has issued over $233 million in credit to its predominantly low-income customers over the last eight years. Repayments are made via micropayments and M-KOPA has now processed nearly 100 million mobile money payments.

M-KOPA provides off-grid homes and businesses with asset financing for lights, phone charging, radios, televisions, fridges and more. Previously, customers were spending an average of 50c per day on kerosene, candles and phone charging.

The energy company pioneered and built one of the world’s most advanced pay-as-you-go platforms – unlocking solar, information, technology and finance to upgrade lives in over 750,000 homes and businesses.

M-KOPA payments displace this spending and customers are able to save an additional US$650 over the lifetime of their systems. This …

Pan-African telecoms enabler SEACOM has further extend its corporate market offering into the East African region, under its Seacom Business brand, by providing its industry-leading Internet connectivity and cloud services directly to corporate customers in Uganda.

SEACOM has been a leading data connectivity provider in Uganda enabling access though the service provider segment.

READ ALSO:SEACOM and Microsoft to boost connectivity in Kenya

It is now bolstering its presence in Kampala by expanding its enterprise reach and will now be able to provide corporate organisations in Uganda with reliable data connectivity and cloud services.

SEACOM will provide a corporate-grade consistent service quality by leveraging its existing high-speed fiber-based network infrastructure that extends from Kampala onto its diverse subsea international backbone.

Speaking during the launch, SEACOM’s Managing Director for the Eastern North and East Africa region, Tonny Tugee, said the new development is part of the telecoms provider’s plan to strengthen …