- Month-on-month growth of 33% through 2022
- Designed for one country and now implemented in three, with others on the horizon
Entrepreneurship emanates from every corner of the continent – from tech start-ups to hustling street vendors to rural agricultural ventures.
As a young continent, most Africans are digital natives. Given a mobile phone, many young people across the continent could harness its digital power to provide lucrative services to other consumers or businesses.
The missing piece is the liquidity to buy the phone and airtime for transactions. Traditionally underbanked and lacking a credit history, many would-be entrepreneurs are unable to get started.
This is the gap that M-KOPA fills. As an asset financing enterprise, M-KOPA provides digital financial services to individuals with limited access to traditional banking.
With its primary product being mobile phones, M-KOPA offers a range of financing options for the devices.
The Challenge
Despite the digital nature of its asset financing solutions, M-KOPA was manually processing bulk mobile money payments to its extensive network of sales teams on the field.
This tedious and time-consuming system meant that accessing accurate transaction statements was a significant obstacle to effective reconciliation, adding an extra layer of complexity. M-KOPA sought a single solution to streamline payment processing and reconciliation procedures.
The Solution
Onafriq’s simple plug-and-play portal made it easy for M-KOPA to:
- Efficiently disburse loans to customers and collect repayments
- Pay sales team members at the click of a button
- Reconcile statements in real-time
- Process payments seamlessly through one connection to all the different telecom companies in Uganda
- Reduce errors in payment and reconciliation.
The Result
Onafriq’s solution has enabled M-KOPA to grow its business volume, says Sales Assistant at Onafriq, Brian Mugisa.
“M-KOPA’s monthly transaction volumes have grown 33% month-on-month in 2022. The significance of this increase in financial disbursements is very exciting. The significance of this increase in loan disbursements is very exciting”.
Equally exciting for M-KOPA is the cross-border expansion the system has enabled. “We designed a solution for M-KOPA in Uganda, which is now being implemented in Kenya, too. Scaling solutions that work across borders is at the heart of our ethos of making borders matter less,” says Mugisa.
Useful Lessons
Mugisa shares three key takeaways other businesses could benefit from:
The importance of focusing on measurable outcomes to track success. “M-KOPA can now measure return on its investment, and that’s so important when implementing any new payment system.”
The crucial role of efficient payment processing. “Solving all the challenges M-KOPA faced with a manual system has highlighted the importance of investing in streamlined payment solutions to save time, reduce errors, and improve overall operations.”
The place of customisation, and consultation. “Onafriq’s ability to provide a tailored solution to meet our client’s unique needs demonstrates the importance of customisation. Consultation is equally important. Understanding their unique requirements was essential in developing an effective solution.”
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