The Mpesa success story has seen Kenya receive praises from visionary
leaders, global institutions, and Tech enthusiasts around the globe. What is
not clear is whether the praises are for the ability of Kenyans to
innovate or embrace innovation.
Either way, we are guilty as praised.
Titles like “How a Poor African
Country is leading in Mobile Money Transfer” have made headlines in the first
world, from the United States to Australia.
Some quite “friendly” articles have focused on Mpesa’s messianic intervention
to the unbanked poor who, before its advent, stashed their little savings under
the mattress. Even the Christian Science
Monitor, under the title “Mpesa
helps world’s poorest go to the bank using mobile phones”, see Mpesa as a
worthwhile intervention that has alleviated some suffering in the world’s
poorest people. Well, this might be
partly true but it’s wrong to think that Mpesa rode on poverty to succeed.
For those who are not aware, about $19 billion or 43% of Kenya’s
GDP flows through Mpesa. There are more than 78,000 agents around the country
who offer deposit and withdrawal services. Around 18 million Kenyans have proudly subscribed
to the service. And it’s their first choice when conversations about money
demand action to be complete. Sending and receiving money here is same as
sending and receiving a text message. That’s why I always get annoyed when I
see non-Mpesa message at a time when only Mpesa messages are welcome.
Poverty, Unbankedness and Mpesa
Many people who attempt to explain why Mpesa succeeded in Kenya,
always find themselves referring to the poor and unbanked populations who have
no other means of sending money. Vodafone, a stakeholder in Safaricom (the telecom
company that owns Mpesa or does it?) has used the “poor and unbanked” logic to
spread Mpesa to Tanzania, India, South Africa, Afghanistan, and now Romania.
Statistics from reputable institutions say that these countries have a huge
number of unbanked citizens. And, just like in Kenya, Mpesa could spark a
financial revolution there and replicate the success story.
We all know that there is some uniqueness in Kenya that could
partly explain why the uptake of Mpesa has been painfully slow in those
similarly bank-shying and poor populations of South Africa, Tanzania, India,
and Romania. In fact, India, with its 1.2 billion people and a huge unbanked
population has a penetration rate of about 0.009%. Only a million Indians are
using Mpesa, compared to 18 million Kenyans out of a total population of 43
million. Mpesa was introduced in Kenya in 2007 and Tanzania in 2008. Why are
there only 5 million Mpesa users in Tanzania, even though the Country has
slightly more people than Kenya and even more people who can be termed poor
and unbanked?
Mpesa: Kenyan or not?
It’s very human to stake claim to anything successful. The very
success story that is Mpesa has led to some bitter contest on who contributed what,
when, where and how. A major theme playing out in most of articles addressing
this issue is that Mpesa is in fact not a Kenyan invention. They put a lot of emphasis in the fact that
the idea was conceptualized and developed in the UK. Safaricom only provided a
testing platform.
No one puts a lot of effort
in dispelling Kenya’s claim on Mpesa than Tefo Mohapi, expectedly, a South
African “Is
Mpesa really Kenyan or British?” He goes on to bash Kenyans even after one
of the British contributors recognizes the efforts of Kenyan agents. He says
the Kenyan Tech scene cannot start patting itself on the back when the Mpesa
success story it overly rides on, isn’t its innovation. He goes further to say that as things stand, “the only truly Kenyan global runaway
success tech story is Ushahidi”. It seems this Mohapi or whatever his name is,
was, on behalf of fellow South Africans, asking for a Tweeter war with KOT.
Thank God the war emissary never delivered the message to KOT.
Probable reasons why Mpesa succeeded in Kenya
Frankly speaking, whether Mpesa is Kenyan or not, it is Kenyans
who have made it a success. And the only
reason Mpesa succeeded in Kenya is because other players in the financial
industry didn’t try to frustrate it from the start. Many banks were caught
napping. Mpesa can succeed even in America if Banks will not fiercely fight it
the same way they are doing in South Africa, India, and Tanzania. I have no doubt that anyone, even with a first
world bank account, will be happy to send and receive cash as a text message. According to the World Bank page, Even
Hillary Clinton wondered why the “brilliant innovation” is not available in the
USA.
The reasons why Mpesa has not flourished in other countries are
the same reasons why wireless electricity remains unimplemented anywhere in the
world – Its value to established capitalistic entities is low.
