The History of Safaricom MPesa APA
Research paper
[Institutional Affiliation(s)]
Author Note
[] THE HISTORY OF SAFARICOM M-PESA 2
transfer service chiefly operating in East African countries Kenya and Tanzania. Network
operator Vodafone launched the mobile transfer service in 2007, for Safaricom and Vodacom
(Jack & Suri, 2010). The mobile money transfer service has since expanded its services to South
Africa, Afghanistan, India, and Romania. This paper takes a review on the history of the leading
mobile transfer service in the world, which has been termed as a global success story.
M-Pesa is a word coined from Mobile, M, and Pesa, P, which means money in Swahili.
The service was officially launched in March 2007, but it had begun its operations earlier (Cook,
2015). The Department for International Development in 2002 established the Financial
Deepening Challenge Fund (FDCF). The FDCF was tasked with the objective of encouraging the
private sector steered projects to increase access to fiscal amenities. The fund awarded Vodafone
close to one million sterling pounds, which the mobile operator was required to match.
Vodafone began developing a product that would power mobile phone technology, to
deliver financial services in East Africa. Vodafone collaborated with Safaricom where the two
increasing access to financial services. Results of the workshop led to the formation of a
program, which would enable microfinance loans to be paid with the help of mobile phones
(Buku & Meredith, 2013). Launch of the pilot program in 2005 triggered comprehensive
The market research identified a gap in the Kenyan market, which turned out to be a huge
opportunity. A good number of Kenyans overlap the rural and urban divide, where those working
in the urban centers support those back home. The concern was sending money to residents in THE HISTORY OF SAFARICOM M-PESA 3
the rural areas was a difficult task. A combination of a low-cost network of agents and mobile
technology gave rise to a solution to sending money to people upcountry. It was comparatively
cheap, safe and consistent. In 2007 when there were no regulations to mobile money services,
The Central Bank of Kenya allowed for the progress of the revolutionary innovation. The mobile
transfer service was officially launched in 2007, with its core objective being sending money
ReferencesBuku, M. W., & Meredith, M. W. (2013). Safaricom and M-Pesa in Kenya: Financial Inclusion
and Financial Intergrity. Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts, 376-400.
Cook, T. (2015, August 12). An overview of M-PESA. Retrieved from FSD Kenya:
http://fsdkenya.org/an-overview-of-m-pesa/
