Browsing: M-pesa

The M-Pesa menu. Many Kenyans are financially worse off over the last three years. www.theexchange.africa

M-Pesa is on course to become a US$1Bn business.

Safaricom Plc (NSE: SCOM) released its interim results on 10th November announcing a 12.1% year-on-year (y/y) rise in 1H22 net earnings. Combing through its numbers against our estimates, its net earnings per share print (KES0.92) outperformed our expectation of KES0.85. The outperformance was primarily driven by lower than forecasted cost environment. Direct costs came in at KES44.5Bn (+20.3% y/y), beating our forecast of KES49.2Bn, while operating costs came in at KES23.4Bn (+10.3% y/y) outperforming our forecast of KES29.6Bn.  

M-Pesa revenues printed at KES52.3Bn (+45.8% y/y), against our forecast of KES55.9Bn. Behind the strong y/y growth, total transaction value grew 51.5% y/y to KES13.7Tn with volumes up 42.0% y/y to 7.3Bn. Two other factors were at play in the revenue performance: The lapse of zero-rated transactions (as expected) and a 31.3% y/y rise in 30-day active M-Pesa average revenue per user

East African Breweries Plc is seeking to raise KSh11Bn shortly after they retired their KSh6Bn Medium Term Note (MTN) on the 28th of June. (The early redemption was averred as part of their balance sheet and costs of funds optimization).

The five-year tenure – with an interest rate of 12.25 per cent p.a. – was in line with our projection of a near term corporate bond issue.

The rationale behind this was the contemporary high costs attached to the alternative sources of income against the backdrop of the pandemic impact on the macroeconomic environment.…

Despite the effects of Covid-19 Africa remains the ripe land of opportunities and as the conversation about Investing in Africa is shifting from one of deficits and gaps to one about Opportunities, Prospects, Trends, Innovation and creativity, in the Companies and industries who have paid close attention to how business in Africa operates.

Africa continues to be the newest destination for emerging market investors and according to Eric Osiakwan, the managing partner at Chanzo Capital, half of the world’s fastest-growing economies have been in Africa, with Ghana and Ethiopia among the countries which showed a real GDP growth of 8 percent in 2018.

In an interview with this reporter at the Social House hotel in Lavington area of Nairobi, Eric Osiakwan a renowned tech investor and entrepreneur says that Investors seek out emerging markets for the prospect of high returns, as they often experience faster economic growth as measured …

With over billion mobile money accounts Africa continues to lead the way in transaction value and volume thanks to M-pesa a Kenyan based mobile money service, that is largely used in East Africa. Other regions all-round the Continent are also registering massive growth.

In 2019, West Africa reported the most live mobile money services in any region, with 56 million active accounts. In Ivory Coast, one of Francophone Africa’s largest mobile money markets, 75% of the population own a mobile money account, compared to 20% who own bank accounts. The difference is staggering and clearly shows the region’s huge appetite for the service.

While telecom operators have largely dominated mobile money services across most of sub-Saharan Africa, a few startups are trying to change the mobile money experience for customers. Ivory Coast-based fintech startup Julaya a digital account for African small and Medium businesses is one such company, that has …

The government amended the Electronic and Postal Communication Act (CAP) last month by imposing a levy of between US$0.0043 (10Tsh) and US$4 on mobile money transactions, depending on the amount sent and withdrawn.

One of the key factors that led to the expansion of mobile money in Africa and Tanzania, in this case, was the increased interoperability, product expansion—which brought financial inclusion to enable nearly everyone with decent income-earning schedules to own a mobile wallet account.…

East Africa is a global leader of mobile money with the highest penetration of mobile money in the world according to a report by the African Union in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Corporation and Development.

The joint report is titled; Africa’s Development Dynamics’ authored by the African Union (AU) in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Corporation and Development.

Mobile money services are provided by telecommunication companies and supported by a network of licensed agents that allows registered users to deposit and withdraw cash in a virtual wallet.

According to data from the report, for every 1,000 adults, the East Africa region has 1,106 registered mobile money accounts compared to  600 for the whole of Africa, 533 and 245 for Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean respectively.

The penetration is higher in the region with most adults subscribers owning one or more mobile money accounts.

According to the …

It has never occurred in Africa for people to remain indoors, work from home and limit human interactions as much as possible to curb the spread of disease.  

Nearly 42 nations enacted partial or full lockdowns to limit the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), hence—this ushered rolling drums for other aspects of life to take form, particularly digitization of life. 

Africa, a continent of more than 1.3 billion people, experienced the horror of the virus as massive volumes of trade and goods ceased to interact within the economy pool, forcing some communities to adopt other means of life, including being well versed with virtual meetings, online shopping, online learning and online working. 

As Rwandan President Paul Kagame says, “the pandemic is a test for us. The way we address it shows our level of preparedness against anything that attempts to disrupt our lives and