M-KOPA, a trailblazing African fintech known for providing affordable smartphones and digital financial services, has earned a spot on CNBC’s prestigious World’s Top Fintech Companies 2025 list.
The list, compiled by Statista in collaboration with CNBC, features 300 global leaders selected through a rigorous process that included the evaluation of over 2,000 companies. These companies were assessed against a general set of KPIs, in addition to certain sector-specific metrics for their category. M-KOPA was featured in the Alternative Financing category, joining the ranks of notable names like Tala, Sun Finance, and MicroVentures, companies that are redefining access to digital lending and funding.
Commenting on the recognition by CNBC, Jesse Moore, CEO and Co-Founder of M-KOPA, said,
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“Reaching the $2 billion credit milestone and being recognized as one of the world’s top fintechs by CNBC represents a critical inflection point—not just for M-KOPA, but for how we think about sustainable growth in emerging markets.”
M-KOPA’s recognition by CNBC comes just one week after the company announced a major milestone of surpassinng over 1 million M-KOPA-branded smartphones sold within 12 months. Sharing the news on LinkedIn, the company wrote,
“We’ve hit a major milestone! In just 12 months, our M-KOPA-branded smartphones have surpassed 1 million sales. To us, this milestone goes beyond impressive numbers; it highlights our commitment to making financial inclusion accessible across Africa.
“The M-KOPA smartphones are integrated with our Smart Money Platform to deliver essential financial services to help access affordable credit, health insurance, and device protection. With every phone, we’re not just connecting people to the internet; each phone represents a step forward for everyday earners to achieve their economic goals.”
M-KOPA’s Nairobi-based assembly plant, Africa’s largest smartphone factory by volume, has played a vital role in this growth. Since opening in 2023, the facility has created over 400 jobs and achieved ISO 9001 quality certification in 2024. The company currently offers four flagship devices—the X20, X2, M10, and S34 with new models expected in the latter half of 2025
With its innovative model that embeds financial services directly into smartphones, M-KOPA has achieved what traditional financial institutions often struggle with, reaching underserved populations with sustainable, scalable solutions. Its Smart Money Platform processes over 15 transactions per second and onboards more than 200,000 new customers monthly, underscoring its significant impact.
The company’s smartphone devices go beyond connectivity, offering users access to health insurance, affordable credit, and device protection. This unique integration allows millions of people many of them previously excluded from formal financial systems to build credit histories and gain economic empowerment. Leveraging a decade of payment data and AI-powered analytics, M-KOPA is helping to reshape financial inclusion in Africa.
M-KOPA’s key achievements include:
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Surpassing 1 million smartphone sales in 12 months
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Creating over 400 new jobs since 2023
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Attaining ISO 9001 certification in 2024
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Enabling mobile internet access for 1.7 million first-time users
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Extending $1.5 billion in credit to more than 6 million customers
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Refurbishing over 100,000 smartphones, reducing CO2 emissions by nearly 8,000 Tonnes
Founded in 2010, M-KOPA continues to pioneer financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa, blending digital micropayments, AI, and innovative distribution to unlock life-changing opportunities for millions.
When providing smartphone financing, M-Kopa combines digital micropayments with advanced AI and machine learning to build “individualized credit profiles”. Operating across Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa, M-KOPA manages the continent’s largest direct sales force, comprising over 35,000 agents.
Beyond financial inclusion, M-Kopa is also working to address climate change. The company’s Kenyan facility also refurbishes phones, with every 13 refurbished phones save one tonne of CO2 emissions. To date, over 100,000 smartphones have been refurbished at up to 40% discount.