M-KOPA hits $1.6bn loans to lead Africa’s pay-as-you-go market
- Nhlanhla Muthe
- Nov 26
- 2 min read
By Nhlanhla Muthe
M-KOPA, the Nairobi-born pay-as-you-go pioneer founded in 2010, has crossed a major milestone with $1.6 billion (KES 207 billion) in loans issued to Kenyan consumers.
The announcement, shared alongside its first Kenya-focused Impact Report yesterday, demosntrates how a solar-startup-turned-fintech giant is transforming access to credit for low-income households across the continent.
What began as a platform to finance off-grid solar kits has grown into a continental fintech force with operations in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, serving more than seven million customers. Its private valuation has hovered between $800 million and over $1 billion, reflecting its growing influence in Africa’s financial inclusion economy.
Kenya continues to be M-KOPA’s biggest market and the centre of its innovation. The fintech giant reports that 4.8 million Kenyans have used its services in the past 15 years, with 4.5 million accessing smartphone financing. For 2.1 million of them, the M-KOPA platform enabled ownership of their first-ever smartphone.
According to Martin Kingori, the General Manager for M-KOPA Kenya, the platform’s impact is visible in people’s daily lives, with nine out of 10 customers reporting an improved quality of life and more than half saying their income has increased.
“Kenya has always been the beating heart of M-KOPA’s progress journey. What matters most is the lived progress of everyday earners,” said Kingori.
Economically, the company has become a significant contributor to Kenya’s digital and manufacturing landscape. It paid $29.2 million (KES 3.79 billion) in taxes last year and procured $156.5 million (KES 20.3 billion) worth of goods and services from Kenyan suppliers. Its Nairobi assembly plant, now recognised as Africa’s largest smartphone assembly line, has produced more than two million devices, boosting local manufacturing capacity and technical skills development.
M-KOPA has also opened the door to the formal financial system for millions. Many customers accessed their first formal loan through the platform, while others received health insurance for the first time and gradually built repayment histories that improved their financial identities. Women have benefited significantly, especially through partnerships with the Gates Foundation, and now represent 40% of active users and nearly half of all M-KOPA agents.
The company has also expanded into electric mobility, financing more than 5,000 electric motorbikes in Nairobi. Brian Njao, M-KOPA’s General Manager for Mobility, says the model gives riders an opportunity they would never get from traditional banks, while simultaneously reducing emissions. Since inception, the company’s work in solar, refurbished phones and electric motorcycles has contributed to a reduction of more than 2.03 million tonnes of CO₂.
Across its five markets, M-KOPA has now unlocked more than $2 billion in credit, supporting micro-businesses, helping families cover essential services and giving millions of Africans a digital identity within the financial system. With a target of reaching 10 million active customers by 2030, the company is positioning itself not just as a device financier but as a long-term financial partner for everyday earners across the continent.
“In a region where smartphones are the entry point to the digital economy, M-KOPA is doing more than selling devices, it is helping hard-working Africans step firmly into a connected digital future," said Njao.
