This article has been updated with clarifications from M-KOPA
M-KOPA has today announced its official launch in Ghana. This is the second country in West Africa after Nigeria. The launch on M-KOPA in Ghana follows a successful pilot phase that saw the company unlock more than $10 Million in digital credit to customers in the country.
M-KOPA has focused its market entry in the Greater Accra Region. It will focus on smartphone financing working with key partners including Samsung and Nokia. The company says that it has provided credit to over 100,000 people in Ghana so far.
Mayur Patel, M-KOPA’S Chief Commercial Officer, said: “As a truly inclusive fintech on a mission to improve financial and digital accessibility, Ghana presents an exciting opportunity for us to expand our impact. Our customer-centric approach will enable us to enhance the day-to-day quality of people’s lives. We are thrilled by the success of the first phase of our entry in Ghana and are on track to serve more customers across the country”.
Serving over 3 Million Customers
M-KOPA recently released its 2023 Impact Report which revealed that it has served over 3 million customers and unlocked over $1 billion in credit. Close to half of its customers are first time smartphone users. This statistic is good for digital inclusion as it ensures more people have access to smartphones even in rural areas.
Chioma Agogo, General Manager, M-KOPA Ghana, said, “We are incredibly proud to announce the official launch of our successful operations in Ghana. This move represents a pivotal step in M-KOPA’s journey to inclusion. It underscores our tangible impact and commitment to empowering the customers we serve in Ghana.”
Accusations of Exploiting customers
Services like M-KOPA has been criticised before with some claiming they exploit the poor. Some of its customers have taken to social media to accuse the company of selling overpriced smartphones. M-KOPA has denied this as well as the other accusation of burdening customers with exorbitant penalties.
in a statement sent to TechArena, M-KOPA clarified this saying,
“At M-KOPA, customers are at the heart of every decision that we make, including our product choice and acquisition strategies. Our innovative financial model is designed to create value for our customers in order to allow easy daily payments for digital assets.
Instead of the conventional approach of purchasing a phone outright, our customers can make a small deposit, typically around 15% of the cost of the phone and benefit from micro daily payments as low as 12Ghc over a flexible period of 4 to 6 months. The customer chooses on which days they can afford to pay and, therefore use the product – giving them the flexibility to miss some days when they don’t have cash. This allows our customers the value of saving more of their disposable income for other daily needs. We consistently benchmark ourselves against other options available to customers in the markets we operate, ensuring that M-KOPA remains competitive in the device financing market.
Furthermore, our consumer protection policy enables customers to return their devices to our shops at any time, during the tenor of the loan. There are no penalties; the returned device is assessed for functionality, and then the customer is refunded the full deposit they made for the phone.
We value the feedback provided by our customers, and our commitment to customer satisfaction is underscored by the findings of our recent impact report. 84% of our customers have expressed that our repayment terms are not a burden, and 4 in 5 M-KOPA customers state that their life has improved thanks to our products and services. We remain dedicated to providing affordable financing solutions while upholding transparency and affordability in all our offerings.“
Also Read: M-KOPA To Debut the First Smartphone with ‘Designed by HMD’ Branding
