Kenya’s leading telco company Safaricom, has announced to expand its online shopping platform Masoko, beyond Kenyan borders to other sub-Saharan African countries by the year 2020.
This announcement was made after considering a projection of increased smartphone usage in the region, which is estimated to hit over 525 million users at the end of next year.
“We see endless possibilities for business beyond borders. We are currently reviewing our e-commerce proposition Masoko to ensure that we are positioned ready to take off. Through the mobile phone, and with its penetration in Kenya at 100 percent, most families have access to at least one mobile phone, making it possible to use these devices as powerful tools for social and economic development.” Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, Chief Financial Services Officer, Safaricom, said.
Earlier in March this year, Safaricom formed a partnership and signed a deal with Chinese run online store under Alibaba Group, Aliexpress.com, to expand its e-commerce reach in the country by allowing them to use M-PESA as a payment option.
The ambition for the Masoko platform is to bring the market to small businesses wherever they are in Kenya and to give them access to opportunities presented by the rapid growth of e-commerce across the globe.
“As a telco, we are purposed to transform lives by investing in technology and knowledge that will widen the reach of the possibilities they have witnessed in the last two decades to reach right across Africa, using that pocket-sized gadget,” said Lopokoiyit.
In the spirit of innovation, Safaricom has so far opened its platform to over 16,000 Fintech developers to develop relevant products and services to customers.
Today, APIs are publicly available and SMEs can test and connect to Masoko platform directly. There is a sandbox where they can be able to try out their services after which they can apply to plug into the system formally. Depending on the SME and their technical skills, they can connect within 10 minutes to the M-PESA platform.
The two-day inaugural Afri-Asia Fintech Festival brings together delegates comprising regulators, innovators, financiers and academicians from across Asia and the African content with an aim of getting Fintech based sustainable solutions that transform lives.
Read Also: Masoko: Connecting the Smallest of Vendors to a Nationwide Market