05 May 2025

M-PESA is set to undergo significant enhancements with a substantial investment of $300 million, equivalent to approximately Ksh 40 billion, earmarked for the upgrades.

Safaricom Group CEO Peter Ndengwa recently announced the impending rollout of M-PESA 2.0, describing it as a transformative initiative that will enhance stability, capacity, and customer experience. Ndengwa emphasized that the upgrades aim to ensure uninterrupted service for users.

“By the time it’s fully rolled out, there will be zero downtime for customers. Safety and security are always our top priority,” said Ndengwa. “To maintain customer trust, we stay ahead of fraudsters and cyber threats, with strong guardrails in place. We’re constantly building resilience so customers can rely on our services with confidence.”

This announcement coincides with the celebration of M-PESA’s 18th anniversary, marking its launch in March 2007. Over the years, M-PESA has expanded its reach significantly, now serving more than 70 million customers across over 170 countries. The platform has also become an essential financial service for more than one million businesses and agents in various African nations, including Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Ghana, and Egypt.

Additionally, M-PESA has developed a robust innovation ecosystem, supporting over 55,000 integrations on its Daraja platform, which hosts a community of more than 100,000 developers. This collaborative environment drives continuous innovation and expansion of services.

Currently capable of processing 4,000 transactions per second, M-PESA handles around 100 million transactions daily, solidifying its status as Africa’s preeminent fintech solution. Safaricom’s concerted efforts to scale the M-PESA platform focus on enabling more digital services, expediting new product development, and enhancing overall stability and reliability in response to the increasing demands of users.