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  • March 2016
  • Case
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M-Pesa: Financial Inclusion in Kenya

By: Rajiv Lal, Lisa Cox and Sarah McAra
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:32
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Abstract

M-Pesa, a mobile money transfer service launched in 2007 in Kenya by telecommunications company Safaricom, allowed people to send money via mobile messaging to contacts, such as friends and family, or even to pay for goods and services, such as groceries or a taxi fare. Uptake for the service had soared, gaining 2 million users in one year of operations. By 2014, M-Pesa processed transactions amounting to almost 7% of the total national payments (NPS) throughput value and two-thirds of total NPS throughput volume. It reduced the dangerous burden of carrying cash for individuals and businesses and brought millions of financially excluded people into the formal financial system. But despite M-Pesa’s meteoric rise and the emergence of similar services, 90% of transactions in Kenya were still in cash. Competition was growing and product line extensions had disappointed, as had several international ventures. Company executives, such as Betty Mwangi, M-Pesa’s general manager, believed that there was still ample opportunity for growth. But after M-Pesa’s outstanding launch and overwhelming success, what would be the company’s encore?

Keywords

Mobile Money Transfer; Market Transactions; Emerging Markets; Developing Countries and Economies; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Telecommunications Industry; Kenya

Citation

Lal, Rajiv, Lisa Cox, and Sarah McAra. "M-Pesa: Financial Inclusion in Kenya." Harvard Business School Case 516-011, March 2016.
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About The Author

Rajiv Lal

Marketing
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Related Work

    • March 2016
    • Faculty Research

    M-Pesa: Financial Inclusion in Kenya

    By: Rajiv Lal, Lisa Cox and Sarah McAra
Related Work
  • M-Pesa: Financial Inclusion in Kenya By: Rajiv Lal, Lisa Cox and Sarah McAra
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