Break up Safaricom, buy out Vodafone on M-Pesa, take it global

[gout]

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For once we should put our petty corruption and short shortsightedness aside and break up Safaricom, kick out vodafone from M-Pesa and take it global. So many nations would do with mobile money. We can get over 30 in Africa and whole of Caribbean for a start. 

This a real chance for a Kenyan firm to go global and solve a real problem.

[RVtitem]

how will it happen given that vodacom owns mpesa rights and they claim it developed it. What happened to the kenyans who sued safaricom on mpesa patent?

[Empedocles]

how will it happen given that vodacom owns mpesa rights and they claim it developed it. What happened to the kenyans who sued safaricom on mpesa patent?

Sadly, mpesa was a UK development and MJ was initially very much against it when Vodacom first appointed Safcon to roll it out. Sagentia was tasked for the development.

The problem with taking mpesa global has to do with money laundering, that's why the western countries have completely balked at allowing mobile payment gateways to start up. Imagine Sonko, who has no known source for his immense wealth, proudly declaring "he is the biggest client responsible for the billions of shillings that Safaricom made as profits." EDIT: Forgot to add that the USSD security protocol used by mpesa is also really quite weak.

But I agree 100% that Safcom should be split, probably into Telcoms, Banking (mpesa), and ISP for better efficiency. For example, the amount of theft currently going on at Safcon, especially with Mshawri accounts, is too much for Conmemore to handle by himself.

[Georgesoros]

Maybe it will happen. Maybe not.

[MOON Ki]

For once we should put our petty corruption and short shortsightedness aside and break up Safaricom, kick out vodafone from M-Pesa and take it global. So many nations would do with mobile money. We can get over 30 in Africa and whole of Caribbean for a start. 

This a real chance for a Kenyan firm to go global and solve a real problem.

Other  that the obvious difficulty in really kicking out the owners (of the basic idea), is it really the case that it is Vodafone (and not other factors in other countries) that is blocking the widespread use of M-PESA? 

See: http://www.financialtechnologyafrica.com/feature-articles/1388/m-pesa-and-beyond-%e2%80%93-why-mobile-money-worked-in-kenya-and-struggles-in-other-markets/

And The Economist:

In any case, Vodafone has already "taken it global"---Romania, Afghanistan, etc.

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

how will it happen given that vodacom owns mpesa rights and they claim it developed it. What happened to the kenyans who sued safaricom on mpesa patent?

Sadly, mpesa was a UK development and MJ was initially very much against it when Vodacom first appointed Safcon to roll it out. Sagentia was tasked for the development.

The problem with taking mpesa global has to do with money laundering, that's why the western countries have completely balked at allowing mobile payment gateways to start up. Imagine Sonko, who has no known source for his immense wealth, proudly declaring "he is the biggest client responsible for the billions of shillings that Safaricom made as profits." EDIT: Forgot to add that the USSD security protocol used by mpesa is also really quite weak.

But I agree 100% that Safcom should be split, probably into Telcoms, Banking (mpesa), and ISP for better efficiency. For example, the amount of theft currently going on at Safcon, especially with Mshawri accounts, is too much for Conmemore to handle by himself.

It's true about the ownership.  What is not clear is if there anything stopping local Kenyan companies from developing their own version that they can try to make global; as applications go, it is not terribly complicated. 

The security is definitely lightweight, but it is not difficult to improve, on an application tailored for a smart phone market.

[Empedocles]

It's true about the ownership.  What is not clear is if there anything stopping local Kenyan companies from developing their own version that they can try to make global; as applications go, it is not terribly complicated. 

The security is definitely lightweight, but it is not difficult to improve, on an application tailored for a smart phone market.

Not quite what we're discussing but close: SimbaPay targets Kenyans in the diaspora with bulk cash transfers

[Nefertiti]

MOON Ki has it right that M-PESA is a niche product that rides on culture. Sambaza concept is a micro-Harambee system where everyone contributes to the neighbor's medical bill. M-KOPA will do very well based on this concept. Micro-lending is the very same model -- promoting business by redressing banking as communal.

OECD and everyone-for-himself societies use plastic and don't need to be spoonfed. Just look at the massive debts in US and China... where is the market there?

Bursary funds (Chacha), etc should also go corporate/private to expand education, agric, etc. If you want financial or economic inclusion -- micros and fringe society (women, youth, peasants, pastoralists,? ) to participate in nation building just redress scary banking halls and collateral with friendly faces (ala Equity) and accessibility (mobile). It's smart branding.

And as noted earlier Safaricom has been primed to reap massive opportunities besides M-PESA. It seems to squander most of those - tech, digital media, entertainment, e-commerce, etc. Equity is going into agribusiness too so the Vodafone "shackles" story is pure baloney.

[Kadudu]

How do you make M-Pesa global without owning mobile network?
BTw, we do not live in North Korea or Zimbabwe. How do you nationalise private property in Kenya?

[mya88]

M-pesa Kenya was an experiment. The success there has banks all across the west very nervous. That success may be largely restricted to Africa where there is a need for an alternative to banks. The money market will make sure it never goes beyond the third world countries.

[Nefertiti]

How do you make M-Pesa global without owning mobile network?

MVNOs is one way like Equitel. Noone owns a global network without various internetwork agreements.

BTw, we do not live in North Korea or Zimbabwe. How do you nationalise private property in Kenya?

Exactly. Anything anti- free market would torpedo our investor ratings big-time.

[Kadudu]

We nationlise it and then run it like a parastatal like Mumuias Sugar Company or even better KQ. After 3 years it will then have to be resqued using public money and it's top managers will be ranking among 10 most rich Africans.

BTw, we do not live in North Korea or Zimbabwe. How do you nationalise private property in Kenya?

Exactly. Anything anti- free market would torpedo our investor ratings big-time.
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[Kadudu]

M-Pesa is for countries where the banking infrastructure does not cover the common man on the street. If M-Pesa has failed to take off in SA how will it do in a developed country?

Vodacom will discontinue its mobile money service M-Pesa in South Africa after it failed to attract enough support in its slow-growing home market, the telecommunications firm said on Monday.

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000201182/vodacom-discontinues-m-pesa-services-in-south-africa

[Empedocles]

The internal corruption of Safaricom is slowly starting to leak out:

Safaricom boss says tender losers are using blackmail

Source: http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Tender-losers-are-using-blackmail--says-Collymore/-/1056/3194766/-/eykh54/-/index.html

An extract of the report Safaricom themselves commissioned.