M-PESA:Why Kenya?

This research paper examines the factors that contributed to the remarkable adoption of M-PESA, a mobile payments system, in Kenya. In particular, it investigates the differences in the uptake of mobile money in Kenya and Tanzania by comparing the initial country conditions, sociocultural norms and business strategies employed in the implementation process. It finds that, despite many similarities between the two countries, Kenya has experienced a remarkably higher degree of uptake compared to Tanzania. The paper attributes the higher adoption rate in Kenya to a combination of favorable country conditions, supportive social-cultural context and effective implementation strategies employed by the service provider Safaricom. It concludes that the rapid adoption of M-PESA is an exception and not the rule for mobile money adoption models, and recommends that service providers tailor their implementation strategies to the unique conditions in each country.