Africa-focused asset financing firm M-Kopa has disbursed more than $2 billion in credit to 7 million customers in five countries since it was founded, it said in a report published Monday. The company projects that it will reach 10 million customers by 2030.
Most of the funds went to a smartphone financing service through which M-Kopa allows low-income consumers to buy devices by paying in installments, Chief Product Officer Nena Sanderson told Semafor. The company also financed digital loans, health insurance, and electric motorcycle purchases in its largest market, Kenya, Sanderson said.
The company hedges against risk by temporarily locking borrowers out of their smartphones during periods of payment default, she said, though it doesn’t charge late fees.
Founded in 2011 — initially to finance solar home products including televisions, fridges, and lighting devices — M-Kopa ventured into smartphone financing five years ago. It has now reached 2.5 million first-time users, producing 2 million devices at an assembly plant in Nairobi using imported components.