M-Kopa

M-Kopa is a leading African fintech platform that provides affordable financial and digital products to everyday earners, particularly entrepreneurs who are traditionally underserved by formal banking institutions. Founded on the principle of combining digital micropayments with GSM connectivity, the company enables customers to access life-enhancing products through an innovative financing model. Users typically begin their journey by making a small deposit for a smartphone and then follow a flexible daily repayment plan that matches their cash flow. By successfully completing these payments, customers build a verifiable credit history that unlocks further financial services including digital loans, health insurance, and device protection. The platform leverages a large-scale proprietary tech and data stack, processing over one million payments daily. With operations across five major markets, M-Kopa integrates world-class hardware, software, and distribution networks to bridge the digital divide for millions of adults who lack collateral or formal salaries, ultimately fostering economic growth and financial resilience.

M-Kopa was founded in 2010 by Nick Hughes, Chad Larson, and Jesse Moore to address the financing gap for essential products in Africa. Headquartered in London with primary operations in Nairobi, the company has grown into a significant fintech platform that utilizes embedded financing to transform smartphones into personal finance tools for the continent's underserved population.

The company's scale is supported by a robust infrastructure, including one of the region's largest smartphone assembly factories with over one million locally manufactured units. Its distribution network features over 30,000 sales agents, facilitating a direct-to-consumer model that has deployed over $2 billion in credit to help customers progress toward their financial goals.