M-PESA Among Top 10 Most Influential Finance Projects Of Last 50 Years

Safaricom’s (NSE) M-PESA has been recognised as one of the Top 10 Most Influential Finance Projects of the last 50 years by Project Management Institute (PMI) in its 2019 Most Influential Projects list.

The 12-year old service further stood out by being recognised among the Top 50 Most Influential Projects in the last five decades. More than 1,000 projects were considered by a group of 400 leaders in the global project management community, including PMI chapter leaders and members, as well as academics and industry experts.

“We are honoured to receive this accolade and global recognition which is a true testament to our impact on society. This recognition further underlines M-PESA’s commitment to our customers and its transformation to the country which has seen financial inclusion in Kenya grow by more than 50 percent in the last 12 years to stand at more than 82 percent today,” said Michael Joseph, CEO Safaricom.

To meet the standards of recognition, the project list identified efforts that changed the world, shaped lives, and altered the DNA of the organisations and the companies that launched them.

The list is part of PMI’s 50th anniversary celebration that includes various activities to recognize the important role project management has played over the past five decades and celebrate where the profession is going.

In addition to its contribution to the growth in financial inclusion in the country, M-PESA has also been credited with financial transformation. In 2017, economists from MIT and Georgetown University found that M-PESA lifted more than 195,000 Kenyan families from extreme poverty by empowering customers with the agency to receive money from any other phone user in the country.

“This recognition reflects the incredible progress we have made in the project management profession and demonstrates how the fabric of our world has been shaped and continues to be shaped, by the hard work of bringing ideas to life.This list demonstrates PMI’s vision of how excellence in project execution will be critical in meeting the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow ,” said Sunil Prashara, President and CEO of Project Management Institute.

M-PESA’s impact extends through its ecosystem of more than 1,100 suppliers, 400 active dealers and more than 167,000 agents who benefict directly from ther service. It has also also contributed up to KES 75 billion in revenue to Safaricom and has grown to serve more than 26 million active customers today.