Economic Update - Safaricom PLC and Vodacom Joint Venture on Mpesa intellectual property rights

[MkukiMoto]

Economic Update by Cytonn Investments - April 12, 2020
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During the week ( April 6 - 12):

• T-bills were undersubscribed, with the subscription rate coming in at 35.6%, down from 112.7% the previous week. The undersubscription is partly attributable to the IFB1/2020/9 bond sale in the primary market that closed during the week, coupled with tightening liquidity in the money market as evidenced by the interbank rate, which increased to 5.3% from 5.2% the previous week.
• Safaricom PLC and Vodacom completed the acquisition of intellectual property rights of M-PESA from Vodafone through a newly formed Joint Venture. The deal is estimated to cost approximately USD 13.4 mn (Kshs 1.4 bn) and will see both Safaricom and Vodacom gain full control of the M-Pesa brand, product development and support services.
• The Central Bank of Kenya (‘CBK’) announced that banks have up to Friday 10th April 2020 to submit details of all loans renegotiated as part of the measures to offer support to businesses and individuals and cushion the economy from the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.
• The Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill 2020 was set to be tabled before parliament. However, this did not happen following the postponement of the legislature’s sitting to an undisclosed later date. In addition to other amendments, the Bill outlines a proposed amendment to the Income Tax Cap (Cap 470) through the deletion of section 22C, which provides for tax incentives to individuals saving towards purchasing of a house through a registered home ownership savings plan (HOSP).
• Fusion Capital, a local real estate developer, announced that it would offer a 3-month 30.0% rent relief to tenants in its Flamingo Towers development in Upperhill as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, which continues to affect the sector.
• In the infrastructure sector, the Kenya Roads Board (KRB) disbursed Kshs 539.0 mn for maintenance of roads in the coastal region, as part of the Kshs 4.4 bn conditional grant, from the National Government for the maintenance of roads in all the 47 counties in this 2019/2020 financial year.

 

[Liberty]

All along I thought m-mbecha is 100% developed and owned by Kenyans?!

 

[MkukiMoto]

All along I thought m-mbecha is 100% developed and owned by Kenyans?!

@Liberty, it's a long and unfortunate story. The App now known as Mpesa was developed by two young Kenya men, Phillip Thigo and John Kipchumbah (KIPP) while working for SODNET Kenya. A non-profit community organization based in Nairobi.

To make a long story short, their intellectual property was acquired by Safaricom CEO, Michael Joseph and it ended up with Safaricom\Vodacom. At the time, Thigo and Kipp had no idea of the real potential of mpesa and ended up with little financial gain for their idea. I think there have been law suits that ended up no-where.

 

[zapp_brannigan]

@Liberty, it's a long and unfortunate story. The App now known as Mpesa was developed by two young Kenya men, Phillip Thigo and John Kipchumbah (KIPP) while working for SODNET Kenya. A non-profit community organization based in Nairobi.

To make a long story short, their intellectual property was acquired by Safaricom CEO, Michael Joseph and it ended up with Safaricom\Vodacom. At the time, Thigo and Kipp had no idea of the real potential of mpesa and ended up with little financial gain for their idea. I think there have been law suits that ended up no-where.

So wizi is part of the MPESA since early days .
Right now while most bank are not charging to transfer money ,MPESA bado inakamua watu .
Example : with 20k kwa MPESA it's cheaper if you transfer it to your bank account and withdraw kwa ATM .
Withdrawing MPESA 20k kwa agent ni Ksh 180 ,if you opt to send that amount to Equity through equity paybill 247247 it will cost you nothing and then withdraw kwa ATM using only 36 Bob.

 

[Ole Waru]

There are many myths about the origins of mpesa.It was developed by a team led by Nick Hughes, Paul Makin and Susan Lonie

The Age of MPESA - Owaahh

On 6th March 2017, the world's most famous mobile money transfer service turned 10. In this first instalment, we look at the wars it had to fight to survive, and the two transactions that saved it.

owaahh.com

 

[MkukiMoto]

So wizi is part of the MPESA since early days .
Right now while most bank are not charging to transfer money ,MPESA bado inakamua watu .
Example : with 20k kwa MPESA it's cheaper if you transfer it to your bank account and withdraw kwa ATM .
Withdrawing MPESA 20k kwa agent ni Ksh 180 ,if you opt to send that amount to Equity through equity paybill 247247 it will cost you nothing and then withdraw kwa ATM using only 36 Bob.

The announcement that they will be no charges for transfers less than 1K was a joke !

 

[MkukiMoto]

There are many myths about the origins of mpesa.It was developed by a team led by Nick Hughes, Paul Makin and Susan Lonie

The Age of MPESA - Owaahh

On 6th March 2017, the world's most famous mobile money transfer service turned 10. In this first instalment, we look at the wars it had to fight to survive, and the two transactions that saved it.

owaahh.com

Michael Joseph knows where he got the Mpesa app from. Definitely not from Paul and Susan !
As for the two brilliant youn men, I just googled both and Thigo ended up in the DP's office in charge of Huduma Centers' apps !