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The Age of M-Pesa

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Re: The Age of M-Pesa

#21

Post by JuanTono »

GreeniFi wrote: post #15
JuanTono wrote: post #13

M-Pesa is a great project. Back in 2016 my team and I tried to replicate M-Pesa in Mexico for bank the unbanked people in rural areas, financial assistance and give them a type of basic income. Only Cisco México and Susie Wee supported us, the government wasn't interested in implementing that. Here is a short description of the project: https://mundocontact.com/dinero-movil-ganador-del-solutions-...

Hi Juan, I was part of a team which built a mobile money (MPesa) only microfinance bank in Kenya. I now live in Mex (for family reasons). I’d love to chat to exchange experiences and what I’m working on now, which is related.

Hi, yes of course. We can talk by DM in twitter (@juanantonio488).

Re: The Age of M-Pesa

#22

Post by coderintherye »

prisonguard wrote: post #18

i live in kenya and frequently use m-pesa, this service is too expensive, a charge for both sending and receiving money just won't fly, sadly it's backed by powers that be who constantly stiffle innovation in the payment space, kenya is still in dark ages in fairness and plurality of payment systems.

I think, while your view point is valid, it ignores that, at the time, M-PESA was a huge leap forward. They were doing mobile money before pretty much anyone. Now, yes, Safaricom has monopolized it and is falling behind and overcharging, but that doesn't negate the initial innovation having been world-changing.

Re: The Age of M-Pesa

#23

Post by adz_6891 »

hckr_news wrote: post #5
adz_6891 wrote: post #2

Interesting take the mpesa back story. For those interested in the current state of the mobile money industry in Africa and other developing countries I can recommend GSMA [1]. While I think the "send money home" value proposition story in Kenya was crucial, it doesn't really explain why mobile money works (or doesn't work) as a service. This is basically all to do with massive agent networks. The business model isn'…

Interesting thanks for sharing that link. Slightly unrelated but what are some potential opportunities for business in Kenya for those living abroad but want to return?

I think there are a range of software businesses that are now viable given the maturity of the mobile money systems, the penetration of smartphones and coverage of data networks. B2C is tough as purchasing power is low, but if you get to significant enough scale it works out. I'm seeing physical products do better for now in B2C, e.g there are a lot of so called pay as you go solar product players with decent investment now. I think B2B is still pretty untapped though and is personally what I'd explore more. Lots of businesses require tech solutions that solve challenges specific to a doing business context in East Africa. There are a lot of startups in Nairobi now, but quality is wildly variable. There are lots of gaps to fill!

Re: The Age of M-Pesa

#24

Post by samvher »

hckr_news wrote: post #5
adz_6891 wrote: post #2

Interesting take the mpesa back story. For those interested in the current state of the mobile money industry in Africa and other developing countries I can recommend GSMA [1]. While I think the "send money home" value proposition story in Kenya was crucial, it doesn't really explain why mobile money works (or doesn't work) as a service. This is basically all to do with massive agent networks. The business model isn'…

Interesting thanks for sharing that link. Slightly unrelated but what are some potential opportunities for business in Kenya for those living abroad but want to return?

There is quite a lively tech scene. One example of an interesting all-African startup is Africa's Talking (http://africastalking.com).

If you're looking for a problem to solve, one thing I struggled with when living there is that there is a major lack of trust between renters and landlords when it comes to housing. Some landlords are ok, but many arbitrarily withhold money from the initial deposit when renters move out and I feel like that generates quite some inefficiency in the housing market. I'm not sure what the solution would be but I know many people would benefit if there was one :)

Re: The Age of M-Pesa

#25

Post by prisonguard »

coderintherye wrote: post #22
prisonguard wrote: post #18

i live in kenya and frequently use m-pesa, this service is too expensive, a charge for both sending and receiving money just won't fly, sadly it's backed by powers that be who constantly stiffle innovation in the payment space, kenya is still in dark ages in fairness and plurality of payment systems.

I think, while your view point is valid, it ignores that, at the time, M-PESA was a huge leap forward. They were doing mobile money before pretty much anyone. Now, yes, Safaricom has monopolized it and is falling behind and overcharging, but that doesn't negate the initial innovation having been world-changing.

technology has gone past simple cash transfer via USSD we are talking of virtual currencies, trust networks, tokens now.
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