M-Pesa Skyrockets Safaricom to Position 19Th Globally on Fortune ‘Change the World’ List

Safaricom PLC has been ranked the 19th globally on the list rating of companies on how they use their profits in helping to address social challenges among communities.

Safaricom with an estimated 1.13 trillion shillings has used the M-Pesa platform to impact positively on the lives of millions of people around the world.

The list was compiled by Fortune Magazine ‘Change the World’ featuring various companies that are said to have impacted on people positively in one way or the other.

M-Pesa has been hailed as being the force behind financial inclusion, especially in Africa. For 10 years, Kenya has been leading other 20 countries in financial inclusion and mobile money transfer, led by Safaricom’s M-Pesa has been hailed for this.

According to Fortune Magazine, the mobile money transfer by Safaricom and Vodafone has more than 30 million customers in 10 countries. The magazine says M-Pesa has helped those in remote areas, far from banks to transact without any problem.

India has more than 8 million M-Pesa users. The government in India uses M-Pesa to pay pensions to its retirees as well as eliminating all risks that come with transporting cash.

M-Pesa has more than 26 million customers in Kenya. Kenyans use M-Pesa to send and receive money, pay bills as well as getting micro-loans through M-Shwari. The platform also has M-Tiba that has allowed Kenyans, especially in informal settlement save money for medical treatment.

Safaricom is the second firm in the telecommunications industry to feature among the top 50 list. It is now ahead of global giants such as Apple, Microsoft, Barclays, Siemens, Deloitte, and Toyota.

The company is money the top revenue generators in Kenya and the only company that posts ‘crazy’ profits. It has the Safaricom Foundation that it uses to give back to the society in various ways including the nurturing of talents through sports.