Study Notes
M-PESA - Technology and Growth
- Level:
- A-Level
- Board:
- AQA, Edexcel, OCR, IB
Last updated 22 Mar 2021
M-PESA is a mobile payment solution launched in March 2007 and credited with having a significant impact on economic development in Kenya.
- Launched in 2007, named after Swahili for money (pesa), originally a micro finance project
- Operated by Safaricom (40% owned by Vodafone)
- Less than 10% of Kenyans have access to financial services
- But nine out of ten adults have access to a mobile phone in Kenya
- By 2009 M-PESA had 6.5 million customers, more recent figure suggests 15.1 million on the system
- Around 20% of Kenyan GDP washes through the M-PESA system
- Safaricom is not allowed to make a profit on the interest and neither is the customer
- Interest earnings go into a charitable M-PESA foundation
- M-PESA has been very successful in Tanzania but has had less impact in Afghanistan and India
- Airtel is the main domestic rival, formerly called Zain and now owned by India’s Bharti Airtel,
M-PESA used in myriad different ways - Kenyans pay school fees, collect their salaries, shop for groceries, they buy everything from drinks in beer shacks to airline tickets thanks to mobile money, sending transfers at the push of a few buttons on a mobile telephone. As per capita incomes rise, people will make savings using the system or might be able to take out loans.
You might also like
Tim Harford on Monopoly and Innovation
27th August 2014
New series of short films on Economics
29th July 2014
Technology as a Disruptive Force
9th June 2014
Footballs in Pakistan: An Innovation Story
30th May 2014
30 Most Innovative Countries in the World
24th January 2014
China at the Cutting Edge
19th September 2013
Innovation and Growth - the Entrepreneurial State
2nd September 2013
Patents
Study Notes