M-Pesa in Project Management Institute top 10 elite club
M-Pesa has been recognised among top 10 most influential projects by Project Management Institute (PMI) in its 2019 list edging out Netflix, Alexa and Paris Fashion Week.
The 12-year old service, which has disrupted the financial sector, also stood out among the top 50 most influential projects in the last five decades.
“This recognition further underlines M-Pesa’s commitment to our customers and its transformation of the country which has seen financial inclusion in Kenya grow by more than 50 per cent in the last 12 years to stand at more than 82 per cent today,” said Safaricom acting chief executive Michael Joseph in a statement.
Flagship App
The flagship App in the Safaricom stable has seen more than 20 million Kenyans use the M-Pesa service to transfer money, apply for loans and receive wages, thereby changing the dialogue of financial inclusion in Africa.
Introduced in 2007, what began as a simple financial transactions service was nurtured into an ecosystem offering loans, international transfers and other services.
PMI is the world’s leading association that trains professionals in project, programme and portfolio management.
In May, Safaricom reported that M-Pesa revenue jumped 19.2 per cent to 31.2 per cent of the company’s revenue of Sh240.3 billion. It is predicted that it would account for over half of Safaricom’s revenues in three or four years.
Investment firm Genghis Capital has projected that Safaricom will post a Sh34.4 billion (profit after tax) in the first half of 2020, although its M-Pesa revenues will slow, impacted by current troubles besetting the betting industry.
However, Genghis says M-Pesa revenues growth will slow to 13.3 per cent from 18.2 per cent in a similar period last year.
Fuliza is expected to cushion the slow growth, following an impressive start, where Sh81 billion Fuliza loans were disbursed in the six months to June 2019.
