Since 2020, M-KOPA has built its reputation helping Africans buy smartphones on credit. But the Nairobi-headquartered asset financing company is increasingly using those devices as a gateway into digital credit.
According to the company, it has now served nearly 10 million customers across Africa and deployed more than $2 billion in credit. While smartphones remain its customer acquisition tool, M-KOPA is increasingly making money from lending, insurance, and other financial services built on the repayment data generated by those devices, and serving customers underserved by traditional lenders.
“So, when we are selling to our customer, we are not selling them a phone,” Faraimose Kutadzaushe, M-KOPA’s chief financial officer, told TechCabal in an interview. “We are selling them more than a phone. It gives you the ability to qualify for things you would otherwise not qualify for. That is why we call it more than a phone.”
According to the World Bank, only about a quarter of adults in low-income economies, including many African countries, used formal credit in 2024, while 35% relied on informal borrowing from family and friends, with business borrowing remaining informal. This opens the door to cash flow–based lending models that draw on digital payment histories to assess creditworthiness.
