The Competition Authority of Kenya (CA) has granted Moniepoint Inc. the regulatory green light to acquire Kopo Kopo, a prominent Kenyan company specializing in payment services and business credit. This move paves the way for Moniepoint, formerly known as TeamApt, to extend its services into Kenya and further advance its pan-African expansion strategy.
Moniepoint Inc., a powerhouse in Nigeria’s business payments and banking realm, is strategically targeting markets with well-established banking and payments infrastructures for its growth. The acquisition underscores Moniepoint’s ambition to provide financial solutions and accessibility across the African continent.
While the specific details of the acquisition remain undisclosed, Moniepoint’s Group CEO, Tosin Eniolorunda, emphasized the company’s eagerness to step into Kenya’s financial landscape, stating,
We have a publicly stated interest in Kenya as part of our mission to provide financial happiness for people across Africa.
Tosin Eniolorunda, Group CEO, Moniepoint
Kopo Kopo boasts a spectrum of offerings, including enabling small-scale merchants to accept mobile money transactions and extending credit facilities to businesses. Moniepoint’s interest in this acquisition seems to be driven by Kenya’s flourishing micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) digital lending sector, coupled with the mature mobile money market dominated by Safaricom’s M-Pesa service.
The CA’s endorsement was granted without conditions, as it concluded that the acquisition would not adversely affect competition in the digital credit market and would not raise concerns in the public interest domain. This development marks a significant step in Moniepoint’s strategic trajectory towards regional financial empowerment and inclusivity.
