• Safaricom reported significant annual growth in the number of Pochi la Biashara checkouts, with 632,681 checkouts in June 2024, compared to 292,634 in 2023.
• In its annual report for the financial year ending June 2024, Safaricom revealed that M-Pesa contributed 42.2% to its total service revenue.
• Small and micro businesses have adopted Pochi la Biashara to better organize their finances and mitigate fraud, as it allows them to separate business funds from personal funds.

Elijah Ntongai, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, has over three years of financial experience, businessand expertise in technology research and reporting, providing insight into Kenyan and global trends.

Safaricom reported significant year-on-year growth in the number of cases of Pochi la Biashara in Kenya.

In his annual report and financial statements 2024, Safaricom reported that M-PESA accounted for 42.2% of total services revenue for the financial year ending June 2024.

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M-Pesa service revenue comes from transaction costs and rates. To increase revenue and improve customer value, Safaricom introduced Pochi la Biashara wallets as part of Lipa and M-Pesa services.

Growth in the use of Pochi la Biashara

Pochi La Biashara is a micro-trader service that allows small business owners such as food vendors, small kiosk owners, bodaboda operators and others to receive and segregate business funds from personal funds on their line M-Pesa.

Safaricom reported that as of June 2024, there were 632,681 Pochi crates, up from 292,634 in 2023, representing a year-on-year growth of 116.2%.

The company attributed the growth of Pochi La Biashara to the increasing adoption of a business-only wallet, separated from personal use, by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Why MSMEs are adopting Pochi la Biashara

TUKO.co.ke sought feedback from small business operators using Pochi la Biashara for payments. Many have said the wallet allows them to organize their finances, making it easier to calculate profits and inventory at the end of the day.

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Many others also noted that the increase in fraud cases in which customers returned the money immediately after sending forced them to adopt Pochi la Biashara for payments.

“Kuna watu wakora sana wanaibia mama kama mimi. Nawauzia mboga an nyanya alafu wakituma wanaenda wanarudisha tena napata hasara. Sasa kwa pochi hawawezi fanya ukora kama hio,” remarked Mary, a grocery store operator.

(Some people were stealing from me. They paid for the vegetables by sending money, then they reversed the money, causing me significant losses. With Pochi la Biashara, they can no longer do the reversals like before.)

Mary’s remarks were reflected in the opinions of many other Pochi la Biashara users, including traders and boda boda riders.

Benefits of Pochi la Biashara

Earlier, TUKO.co.ke explained the Registration process requirements for Pochi la Biashara and other benefits for merchants and customers.

Pochi La Biashara works like a business account by creating a separate account on the same M-PESA line, allowing merchants to receive funds directly into this dedicated account rather than their M-PESA account.

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This setup helps business owners separate their personal and business funds while allowing them to transfer money to their M-PESA account when needed.

Notably, a customer cannot cancel money sent to Pochi la Biashara unless the business owner approves the cancellation.

Source: TUKO.co.ke