Airtel targets Kenya’s small businesses as mobile money war shifts to merchants
Airtel Money Kenya is targeting small businesses with a new digital wallet as it seeks to deepen customer engagement after increasing its share of Kenya's mobile money market to 10.9%.
Airtel Money Kenya is launching a new digital wallet, Bizna Wallet, aimed at small businesses as it attempts to expand its customer base beyond mobile money users. The rise of merchant payments has become a crucial growth area for Kenya's mobile money market, with Safaricom's Pochi la Biashara service seeing a 86% increase in revenue to KES 4 billion ($31 million) in the year ending March.
Airtel's customer base has grown steadily through cost reductions, wider agent availability, and partnerships with banks, with over six million customers served through 270,000 agents and two million outlets. To compete with Safaricom, Bizna Wallet offers a dedicated business wallet for separating earnings from household spending.
The wallet provides fee-free transfers for small businesses, a move that could accelerate its adoption. Bizna Wallet is built on an upgraded Airtel payments platform, enabling faster product launches and enhanced security. CEO Djibril Tobe emphasized the company's commitment to empowering Kenyan businesses and financial inclusion through the 50% cashback cashback program.
Despite Safaricom's dominance, the merchant business segment presents an opportunity for Airtel to expand its reach and strengthen its mobile money presence in Kenya.
Written by urgent.news from TechCabal's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
