MPESA, named after the Swahili word for money, is Kenya’s mobile money system developed by Safaricom. It has transformed how people work, save, and pay for groceries, bills, rents, and everything else. Kenya reports that use of MPESA has helped to lift 186,000 families out of poverty. That is nearly 2% of the entire population. And it has allowed wealth to grow across the board, helping to develop a stronger middle class.
Trevor Snapp/Bloomberg
This episode tells the story of MPESA, and how it came to partner with banks, particularly KCB, to give all people access to banking services, to easy movement of their money, helping them to save and build wealth.