Kenyan communications company Safaricom is teaming up with South Africa (SA)-based peer Vodacom to buy the intellectual property (IP) rights to the M-Pesa mobile financial services platform for 12 million euro ($14 million).
Safaricom noted that the acquisition of M-Pesa, which booked $741 million in Safaricom’s financial year at the end of March, will enable the companies to save in royalties paid to Vodafone.
The deal will enable the companies to develop local products, such as Fuliza, an M-Pesa overdraft facility launched in Kenya earlier this year, which currently has 8.8 million users.
In addition to developing additional products, Safaricom and Vodacom intend to launch into other African markets, with Ethiopia as the main target.