Safaricom’s Pochi la Biashara has grown to 2.2 million users, more than double the company’s 1 million Lipa na M-PESA merchants.
The growth is a significant jump from 600,000 users in 2024 to 1.1 million in 2025, before doubling again to the current 2.2 million.
According to a study conducted by the GSMA involving 1,992 women microentrepreneurs across Nairobi, Murang’a and Kajiado, Safaricom’s growth strategy went beyond acquiring new customers.
The study found that many Pochi users were aware of some of the wallet’s features but were not necessarily using them.
For instance, 48% of new Pochi users were aware of the mini-statement feature, but only 8% had used it. Likewise, 71% were aware of Lipa na Pochi but only 53% were using it. Awareness of Pochi’s airtime buying and selling feature was only 34%, with 7% using it.
Safaricom found that some Pochi users dropped off after signing up because they received little follow-up engagement or guidance on how to use the service.
Peer recommendations also played an important role. Nearly 49% of new Pochi users first learned about the service through friends or family, while 21% adopted it following a recommendation from someone they knew.
Although 70% of the women surveyed owned smartphones, most continued to access Pochi through USSD rather than the M-PESA app or My OneApp. Safaricom subsequently reduced the number of steps required in the USSD journey.
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Also Read: Airtel Money Launches Bizna Wallet, to Take on M-PESA Pochi la Biashara
