Safaricom, Kenya’s biggest telecommunications company seems to be testing a new product for MPESA that will allow you to invest and earn interest. There is still not a lot of information about this feature but it could be a big deal in Kenya.
The new product is called Mali (Kiswahili name for ‘wealth’) and it aims to allow MPESA users to invest easily.
This #Mali product by Safaricom will be a game changer. Mali gives Safaricom customers an easier way to invest. More empowering than borrowing Apps which have placed more Kenyans into toxic debts. pic.twitter.com/8MryMSKCLg
— Francis Waithaka 💙 (@waithash) December 4, 2019
MPESA users can invest as low as Kshs 100 and a maximum of Kshs 70,000 which will give a return of 10% interest annually.
Since it is powered by MPESA, it allows for instant withdrawals, either partially or in full to your MPESA wallet. It is also cool to note that deposits and withdrawals are free.
In order to register for Mali, dial *230# and agree to the terms and conditions, enter your MPESA PIN and then provide a valid email address and a next of kin contact. You can invest your hard earned money via USSD or via a PayBill number. You also need to be a registered MPESA user for over 3 months to be eligible to use Mali.
It seems Safaricom has been able to come up with a digital version of a money market fund and thanks to its reach and 24 million MPESA customer base, it could be a hit.
This could prove to be popular just like Fuliza. Fuliza was a product in partnership with Safaricom and a couple of commercial banks were they offered an overdraft facility to MPESA users. It became insanely popular to the point where Kenyans borrowed Kshs 81 billion via fuliza in the first six months of the year.
Mali is not the only way MPESA users can save money and earn interest from it. They also have the Mshwari Lock Savings Account in partnership with CBA (now NCBA) where you can earn an interest of 7.35% per annum when the amounts mature.
