07 June 2023

The M-Pesa platform processed US$364.8 billion of transaction value over the last twelve months, up 13%, cementing its top position in the African fintech space.

M-Pesa, jointly owned by Vodacom Group and Safaricom, is Africa’s most successful mobile money platform and has become a key revenue stream for both telcos.

Vodacom Group reported in its annual performance for the year that, in the 12 months ending March 2023, international M-Pesa revenue was up 31.1% to R6.5 billion, contributing 24.6% of service revenue.

Shameel Joosub, Vodacom Group CEO, said that the growth was supported by a strong performance in the DRC, with Tanzania’s performance recovering as levies on mobile money were reduced during the year.

“The underlying momentum of M-Pesa reflects our ongoing product enhancements in both the consumer and merchant segments, supported by M-Pesa Africa. In the consumer segment we launched new insurance, term-loan and group-savings products, scaled international money transfer and enhanced our M-Pesa app during the year,” said Joosub. In Tanzania, “loans granted via our lending product ‘Songesha’ more than doubled to R8.2 billion in the year. To grow and diversify the M-Pesa ecosystem, we also accelerated our merchant strategy more than doubling the number of active merchants to 196,000.”

M-Pesa also recently won an operating licence for Ethiopia, which, according to Joosub, is an important milestone for the group as it accelerates its “ambition to transform lives in the country as we seek to connect every Ethiopian to the global digital economy.”