Pan-African fintech company M-KOPA has once again landed on the Financial Times’ Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies list — marking its fourth consecutive appearance. The accolade highlights not only the company’s consistent growth but also its enduring impact in expanding access to credit and financial tools for underserved consumers across the continent.
Founded with a mission to deliver life-changing products to unbanked everyday earners, M-KOPA has hit major growth milestones in recent years. The company posted a 42% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2020 to 2023, and its momentum hasn’t slowed. In 2024, M-KOPA saw revenue soar by 65% year-on-year, with projections placing the business on track to surpass $500 million in annual revenue by 2025.
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M-KOPA’s model is simple but powerful: provide affordable, financed smartphones to low-income earners — many of whom are coming online for the first time — and offer mobile financial services through those devices. From credit to insurance and subscription products, M-KOPA’s platform is tailored for non-salaried earners, a segment expected to represent over 1 billion adults in Africa by 2040.
“We are thrilled to make the FT Fastest Growing Companies in Africa list for the fourth year in a row,” said Jesse Moore, CEO and co-founder of M-KOPA. “Our growth continues to accelerate, and we now onboard a new customer every nine seconds.”
The company’s data-driven approach has been a key differentiator. Thanks to digital payments infrastructure, M-KOPA now processes around 15 payments per second, giving the fintech real-time insight into the spending behaviours and credit needs of its growing customer base.
Pan-African scale-up with Kenyan roots
While M-KOPA was born in Kenya, 2025 marks a tipping point for the fintech: it now acquires more customers outside of Kenya than within. Expansion into Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, and most recently South Africa, has propelled its pan-African ambitions.
In addition to geographic growth, M-KOPA has made significant investments in local manufacturing and product innovation. In 2023, it launched East Africa’s first and largest smartphone assembly factory, producing over 1 million smartphones annually and creating 300+ new jobs. A year later, the company introduced its own branded range of smartphones, which now make up more than 20% of all smartphones sold in Kenya.
With over 6 million customers reached to date, M-KOPA continues to scale its operations while remaining anchored to its original mission: driving financial inclusion for Africa’s everyday earners.
As fintech adoption accelerates across the continent, M-KOPA’s story serves as a case study in sustainable, impact-driven growth — a rare balance of profitability and purpose.
