M-KOPA, an asset financing startup, now has five million customers across five African markets, the company has said, as it continues to push its pan-African ambitions. The company operates in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.
The startup, backed by Sumitomo Corporation, Blue Haven Initiative and Standard Bank Group, claimed in its 2024 impact report that it had disbursed $1.5 billion in credit to its customers in the five markets. It offers smartphones, solar power systems and electric bikes, which users pay for in small instalments.
“The scale of our operations and our positive impact on customers is what keeps us working hard to go even further. We’re just getting started; the opportunity for much larger impact and scale is right in front of us,” said Jesse Moore, M-KOPA co-founder and CEO.
Starting with smartphone access, customers gain entry to the digital economy with an affordable daily repayment model, which fits their daily income and cash flow and makes it easier to manage. By leveraging rich payments data and proprietary AI-driven analytics, M-KOPA builds a credit record for each customer which forms the foundation for a long-term financial relationship for lower cost digital loans, affordable data subscriptions and medical insurance.
M-KOPA has enjoyed a growth spurt in the past year, adding two million customers in the last 15 months, it said in a statement. The company has been working to hold its lead in PAYGO as more entrants, like D.Light and Aspira, are looking to capture the sector that targets low-income earners.
The London-based startup has looked to lure new customers with affordable smartphones and electric bikes which are the preferred mode of transport in rural and peri-urban areas of its key markets like Kenya. It said its Kenyan smartphone facility assembled one million units in 2024, while its mobility arm sold 1,500 e-motorbikes.
“Our product and services build pathways to prosperity for our customers and agents, enabling them to overcome financial setbacks, generate income and progress towards the futures they aspire to. Our impact extends beyond our customers, reaching their families and communities, and contributing to building a more sustainable world,” said Nena Sanderson, M-KOPA chief product officer.
M-KOPA has raised over $590 million in venture funding across seven rounds. It closed its last funding round of $51 million in debt financing in May 2024, continuing a strong five-year period for the startup.
In 2023, M-KOPA secured $255 million of debt and equity funding for its African expansion, paving the way for entry into South Africa.
As the company rolls out new financial offerings, it wants to cross 10 million customers over “the next few years.”
Headquartered in London, UK, M-KOPA now creates employment for more than 3,000 staff and 30,000 commission-based sales agents across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. The company has been recognised by the Financial Times as one of Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies for the past 3 years, and by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Companies globally for the past 2 years.
