Kenyan-based Fintech startup that provides connected asset financing solutions for underbanked customers, M-KOPA, has been listed by TIME, in its 2023 list of the TIME100 most influential companies in the world.
The Fintech startup was listed among other top remarkable companies across the globe, after TIME solicited nominations across sectors, and pulled its global network of contributors and correspondents, as well as outside experts.
Then TIME editors evaluated each, on key factors, which include ambition, successful impact, and innovation.
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Speaking on the recently published TIME100 companies list, TIME Chief Executive Officer Jessica Sibley said, “The annual TIME100 companies list demonstrates that businesses can be change agents. From artificial intelligence to fashion, this list spotlights the innovative companies and visionary leaders that are shaping the world”.
M-KOPA was listed in the TIME100 Pioneers category alongside other companies such as ZeroAvia, Ameelio, Graphika, and several others, which signifies the company’s recognition for its remarkable and significant impact on global energy access and financial inclusion.
M-KOPA’s recent feature in TIME100’s most influential companies, coming after the startup in May 2023, was ranked in the 50th position in the Financial Times (FT) ranking of Africa’s fastest-growing companies in 2023.
M-KOPA financial offerings are designed for the realities of the financially excluded, tested and improved through a decade of experience, and proven through the successful repayment of millions of customers.
The asset financial provider was founded in 2010 with the idea of combining the power of digital micropayments with GSM connectivity to make life-enhancing assets more accessible. Since then, it has built one of the world’s most advanced connected financing platforms, deploying $1 billion in products and credit to the financially excluded.
M-KOPA’s business revolves around using debt to finance customers’ purchase of products and services it sells, such as smartphones and solar power systems, as well as loans and health insurance across four markets: Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, and Nigeria.
With its flexible credit model, the business allows individuals to pay a small/deposit for the two products above and pay off through micro-installments, helping build their credit history over time. Default rates are a little above 10%.
Last year, the startup claimed to have provided over $600 million in cumulative credit for its underbanked customers via a network of over 10,000 agents.
In 2023, M-KOPA revealed it has reached a total of 3,000,000 customers, and in May last month, it snapped up $250M+ debt, and equity for its asset financing platform.
M-KOPA’s remarkable success in Kenya, saw the startup expand to other neighboring countries such as Tanzania and Uganda where it strategically partnered with local mobile network operators to reach a wider customer base.
Given its success in East and West Africa, where it has sold over a million solar home systems and helped avoid 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, M-KOPA has set its sights on South Africa, where the company is ready to open a pilot operation in the next few weeks.
The startup is poised to continue to drive positive change in the energy and financial sectors, with a mission to upgrade lives by making high-quality solutions affordable to everyone.