M-pesa Ziidi Assets Double as Safaricom Expands Investing

In Short

Safaricom is expanding M-PESA further into retail investing in Kenya. It is doing this after assets in its Ziidi money market fund more than doubled.

What Happened: M-PESA Ziidi Money Market Fund Growth In Kenya

Safaricom says M-PESA is gaining traction as an investing channel, not just a payments app. Assets under management in the Ziidi fund sold through M-PESA more than doubled to KES 18.7 billion, about $145 million, in the year ended March 2026.

The telco also said total “wealth assets” on the platform rose to KES 21 billion, about $162 million. In this context, wealth assets means customer money placed into investment products accessed through M-PESA, not cash held for day to day payments.

Safaricom has also been adding more retail investing features. In February, it launched Ziidi Trader, a service that lets customers buy and sell listed securities on a mobile phone. Listed securities are investments like shares and bonds that trade on a public exchange.

Why It Matters: Safaricom Moves From Payments To Financial Services

Kenya’s mobile money market is mature. Many users already rely on M-PESA for person to person transfers and merchant payments. That makes growth from payments alone harder.

By growing Ziidi and adding a trading product, Safaricom is moving into areas long dominated by banks, fund managers, and brokerages. The goal is to keep more customer savings and investing activity inside the M-PESA ecosystem.

If this push continues, competition in Kenya’s retail investing market could shift toward distribution, meaning who owns the customer relationship and the app they already use every day. That could also pressure traditional providers to improve mobile onboarding, lower minimum investment amounts, and simplify investing education for first time investors.