Safaricom, East Africa’s largest telco and owner of M-PESA, the region’s largest money transfer service, has partnered with Equity Bank, the region’s largest digitized bank, to build and grow their fintech local and regional offerings.
Speaking about the partnership, the CEO of Safaricom, Bob Collymore, said:
“Today, we are very pleased to be renewing this partnership. This is not just about how to deepen financial inclusion but how to broaden it and move away from peer to peer money transfer to bringing a broader suite of financial services.”
A Symbiotic Partnership
Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore, and Equity Group CEO, James Mwangi, after signing the partnership .The two companies have been at the forefront in pushing for mobile money and digital lending offerings with Safaricom’s MPESA platform taking up the larger piece of the mobile money pie.
On the other hand, Equity Bank, through its Finserve subsidiary, has been able to expand successfully across the East African region with money and banking service offerings in countries like Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
James Mwangi, the CEO of Equity Bank, said:
“Our customers keep asking us how their experience can be made more convenient. Payments and processing is key in financial inclusion and Safaricom is best at running the technology platform. What Equity bank does best is offer financial products that speak to the needs and aspirations of people.”
It is expected the new partnership will see increased uptake and transactions of MPESA services on FinServe while Equity Bank leverages Safaricom’s 156,000 agency and Lipa Na MPESA merchant network.
.@bobcollymore At Safaricom, we are looking to learn more on regional expansion from Equity as we seek to take M-PESA beyond Kenya. #SafaricomEquityPartnership pic.twitter.com/7RCzl1DD81
— Safaricom PLC (@SafaricomPLC) April 29, 2019
“At Safaricom, we are continuously driven to explore new ways to provide our customers with the best possible experience on our network. As we continue on our journey to become a more widely accessible digital platform, symbiotic partnerships like this one will unlock new opportunities for our entire ecosystem to benefit from enriched innovation, all based on a socially conscious business model.” Safaricom Chief Executive, Bob Collymore said.
The collaboration will see both companies build more inclusive financial products that will see common approaches to risks such as as fraud and cyber security. The collaboration will see both companies work together to further deepen financial inclusion in Kenya and the region.
