M-Pesa partners Access, Coronation on intra-Africa remittances

STARTUP VENTURE CAPITALMarch 25, 2024 at 11:22 PM UTC

TLDR

Access Holdings partners with Coronation Group, Safaricom, and M-Pesa Africa to create a remittance corridor linking East and West Africa.
Access Bank, the largest consumer bank in Africa, acquires National Bank of Kenya Limited, expanding its presence in East Africa.
Collaboration aims to connect over 60 million customers and 5 million businesses across 8 countries, processing over $1 billion in transaction value daily.

Nigeria's Access Holdings is aggressively pursuing a dominant position in the remittance market across East and West Africa through a partnership with Coronation Group, Safaricom, and M-Pesa Africa, aiming to create a remittance corridor connecting East and West Africa.

As the largest consumer bank in Africa with over 60 million customers in 21 countries, Access Bank recently made its biggest play in East Africa with the acquisition of National Bank of Kenya Limited.

The collaboration, which is subject to approval from the Kenyan financial authorities, will see the players connect more than 60 million customers and 5 million businesses across 8 countries and process more than $1 billion a day in transaction value.

Key Takeaways

Nigeria and Kenya rank as the first and third largest recipients of diaspora remittances in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2023, remittances to Nigeria represented 38% of the total $58 billion remittance flows to the region, experiencing a 2% growth. Ghana and Kenya saw estimated gains of 5.6% and 3.8%, respectively. In Kenya, Safaricom's mobile money platform, M-Pesa, dominates the market with a staggering 96.5% share. Additionally, another report indicates that 32% of remittances in Kenya are facilitated through mobile money operators.

Access Holdings

Access Bank

National Bank of Kenya

Coronation Group

Safaricom

M-Pesa

Remittances

West Africa

East Africa

Cross-Border Transfer