M-KOPA Achieves First Profitable Year After 13 Years of Pan-African Growth
African fintech pioneer M-KOPA has announced its first-ever profitable year, marking a major milestone in the company’s 13-year journey. The Nairobi-based asset-financing platform reported profits of KES 1.2 billion ($9.2 million) in 2024, recovering from a KES 3.2 billion ($24.7 million) loss in the previous year.
The company’s financial documents filed in the United Kingdom revealed an impressive 66% revenue surge to KES 53.7 billion ($416 million), establishing M-KOPA as one of Kenya’s fastest-growing startups.
“Achieving a profit for the first time in 2024 reflects our continued commitment to building a long-term, impactful, and sustainable business,” M-KOPA stated in their official communication to TechCabal.
Founded in 2011 by former Vodafone executives Nick Hughes and Jesse Moore, M-KOPA has evolved from its initial focus on solar home systems to become a comprehensive digital finance platform. The company now serves millions of customers across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa, and Ghana, offering smartphones, cash loans, and insurance products.
The company attributes its successful turnaround to multiple factors, including robust demand for core products, strict cost management, improved credit assessment procedures, and enhanced portfolio oversight. This transformation was previewed in November 2024 when Mayur Patel, MD of M-KOPA Fintech, indicated the company’s trajectory toward profitability.
M-KOPA’s success largely stems from its innovative smartphone financing strategy, launched in 2022. Through partnerships with major manufacturers like Samsung and Nokia, and the establishment of a Nairobi assembly plant, the company has pioneered a pay-as-you-go model for mobile devices. This approach allows customers to access smartphones through small initial deposits followed by incremental payments.
The company’s sophisticated approach to underwriting small consumer loans, utilizing alternative data such as mobile usage patterns and payment history, has enabled sustainable growth while maintaining low default rates.
Having secured over $250 million in equity and debt funding from prominent investors including Generation Investment Management, Lightrock, and British International Investment, M-KOPA’s achievement comes at a crucial time when investors are increasingly focused on profitability in African startups, particularly as the previous funding surge in fintech begins to stabilize.
This success story demonstrates the viability of innovative financing models in addressing financial inclusion across Africa, while building a sustainable business model that can deliver both social impact and financial returns.
