Watu Simu Finances 1 Million Smartphones in Uganda

In Short

• Watu Uganda says it has financed 1 million smartphones through Watu Simu.
• The milestone was marked at an event in Kampala on July 20, 2026.
• The company is scaling distribution through dealers, branches, and agents.

What Happened: Watu Simu Smartphone Financing In Uganda

Watu says Watu Simu has financed one million smartphones in Uganda, according to reports published on July 21, 2026. Watu Simu is a phone financing plan where customers pay a deposit, then repay the balance in instalments, instead of paying the full price upfront.

The company celebrated the milestone in Kampala on July 20, 2026. The timing also marks seven years since Watu started operating in Uganda in 2019, and three years since it launched smartphone financing in 2023.

Watu’s reported growth has been fast. It reached 500,000 financed devices in 2025, and doubled to one million by July 2026. The reports say more than 250,000 devices were financed in the first half of 2026 alone.

Watu attributes uptake to wider distribution. The network reportedly includes over 300 dealer partners, 29 branches, more than 10,000 agents, and 880 staff.

The company also points to cross-selling across its asset financing products. Reports say over 6,000 boda boda riders who financed motorcycles with Watu later took smartphone financing as well. Women are also a growing segment, with female customers reportedly making up 42% of Watu Simu’s total base, and about half of new customers as of June 2026.

Why It Matters: Device Financing And The Digital Divide

Smartphone access is now tied to income, not just communication. For riders, traders, and small business owners, a smartphone can mean mobile money, customer messaging, and social media selling.

For Uganda’s fintech and lending market, the milestone is another signal that “pay-over-time” models, like asset financing and buy-now-pay-later, keep growing when cash flow is uneven. One caveat is that Watu’s corporate homepage did not show an explicit press release confirming the milestone at the time of checking, so operators and partners may wait for direct company confirmation and more performance details, like repayment rates and default levels.