Safaricom, the leading mobile network in Kenya, has selected Pezesha, a digital lender, to provide credit to small business owners.
This new collaboration adds to Safaricom’s existing loan products, including M-Shwari and Fuliza.
Mkopo wa Pochi: A New Loan Product for M-PESA Business Accounts
The new product, Mkopo wa Pochi, enables small business owners to borrow money directly through their M-PESA business accounts. Available through the M-PESA super app, Mkopo wa Pochi complements Pochi la Biashara, Safaricom’s business wallet for small business owners.
This partnership marks Pezesha’s debut in Kenya’s mobile money market, granting it access to Safaricom’s vast customer base of over 32.4 million active M-PESA users. Pezesha brings its expertise in digital lending and credit partnerships, having previously worked with Marketforce, Kyosk App, and Rocket Health.
Leveraging Strengths of Both Companies
Mkopo wa Pochi capitalizes on the strengths of both Safaricom and Pezesha. Safaricom’s Pochi la Biashara boasts over 632,000 active merchants and processed $564 million in transactions between March 2023 and March 2024, generating $6 million in revenue for the operator. Pezesha’s expertise in credit partnerships and digital lending complements Safaricom’s reach and customer base.
Mkopo wa Pochi loans come with a one-time access fee of 2.76% on the borrowed amount and a 7-day term with an optional 7-day extension.
Extending the loan incurs a one-time fee of 3.85%, and late repayments are subject to a 1% daily penalty for up to 7 days. Pezesha assesses Pochi la Biashara customers’ creditworthiness using tools like credit bureaus and other data sources.
Pezesha’s Funding and Credit Scoring Technology
In May 2024, Pezesha secured a $500,000 grant from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to enhance its credit scoring technology.
This followed a $11 million pre-Series A funding round in 2022 led by Women’s World Banking Capital Partners II.