Safaricom is expanding its cooperation with Equity Group in order to push m-Pesa into other markets while driving greater financial inclusion in Kenya.
The Kenyan operator’s CEO Bob Collymore said that the two firms would focus on “building and sharing technical knowledge to develop a common approach to risks such as fraud and cybersecurity”, and that Safaricom was “looking to learn more on regional expansion from Equity as we seek to take m-Pesa beyond Kenya.”
While the details of how this expansion could work were not disclosed, the firms are reportedly considering aligning their agent networks and retail operations more closely. Equity Group is headquartered in Nairobi but has subsidiaries in five other African countries – DRC, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
Safaricom’s m-Pesa mobile money service has been hugely successful in Kenya, with the World Bank frequently highlighting its business model as one to emulate. After Vodacom acquired shares in the Kenyan operator, Safaricom has repeatedly stressed its intent to export the service into more markets.
