During a recent Twitter space event hosted by Big Tech This Week, Babajide Duroshola discussed the notable accomplishments of M-Kopa. He highlighted that M-Kopa successfully reached 3 million customers and shared insights on why they raised $250M in debt funding.
With a vision to expand its impact across Africa, M-Kopa has set ambitious growth objectives:
To significantly increase their customer base from 3 million to an impressive 10 million within the next four years.
This expansion plan reflects M-Kopa’s commitment to providing affordable and sustainable energy solutions to a larger segment of the African population.
By achieving this target, M-Kopa aims to foster economic empowerment and enhance the quality of life for millions of individuals and families across the continent.
In this article, we will explore M-Kopa’s notable accomplishments, its impact on communities, its competitive advantages, and the strategies that have contributed to its success.
And most importantly, we will discuss actionable steps to improve the digital customer experience and drive further growth.
About M-Kopa
Affordable Solar & Mobile Solutions and Financial Inclusion
– M-Kopa: Leading provider of affordable solar energy & mobile solutions
– Focuses on underbanked customers in emerging markets, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa
– Innovative Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) model for affordable instalment payments
M-Kopa’s Impact
- Additional Income: $180 million generated with M-Kopa products
- Internet Access: Connected over 400,000 first-time users
- Lives Impacted: Improved clean energy and health services for 3.8 million individuals
- Environmental Impact: Avoided 2.1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions
- Sales Agents: Over 15,000 active sales agents
- Credit Deployment: Deployed $1 billion in credit to the underbanked population
M-Kopa’s Advantage
Inclusivity, Flexibility, and Fairness
M-Kopa sets itself apart with its commitment to inclusivity, flexibility, and fairness:
Inclusivity:
- No collateral or proof of income is required,
- Simple ID and initial deposit for access to high-quality products
- Get product after 1st payment.
Flexibility:
- Customers can maintain product usage during challenging times
- Alternatives are offered when payments are missed, without harsh penalties
Fairness
- The advertised price is what the customer pays, with no hidden fees or unexpected costs
- Customers can return products at any time, receive a deposit refund, and be relieved of further payment obligations
M-Kopa’s Strategy
Strategies That Got M-Kopa 3M Customers
M-Kopa has implemented a range of effective strategies to reach its current customer base of 3 million and beyond:
1. Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) Model:
- The innovative PAYG model enables affordable instalment payments, making their solutions accessible to customers without significant upfront investment.
2. Distribution Partnerships:
- Strategic collaborations with industry leaders such as Nokia, Samsung, Safaricom, MTN, and others.
- A robust network of 15,000 agents reaches remote and underserved areas.
3. Marketing and Awareness Campaigns:
- Investment in impactful marketing campaigns to create brand awareness and educate potential customers about the benefits of mobile and solar energy solutions.
4. Customer Support and Service:
- Strong emphasis on prompt assistance and technical support, building trust and fostering positive customer experiences.
5. Product Innovation and Upgrades:
- Continuous investment in product innovation to meet evolving customer needs.
- Refurbishing and upgrading returned devices for repurposing, contributing to sustainability.
6. Expansion into New Markets:
- Identification of high-energy-demand regions with limited electricity access.
- Establishment of a presence and tapping into untapped markets for customer growth.
4 Actionable Steps M-Kopa Can Use To Skyrocket Customer Acquisition.
Optimise Copy & CTA’s for Customer Intent
Imagine you walked into a grocery store and its shelves are filled with the awards and accolades your supermarket they’ve won over the years, and not groceries. Doesn’t make business sense right? How much do you estimate they’d lose in revenue?
This is a mistake that many businesses make, focusing on why their business is awesome and not how they can solve their customers’ problems.
The human attention span is SHORT. You have less than 8s to convince every customer that you’re the right choice for them.
TLDR:
DO THIS
Make Buying Online and Offline Easy
OK, let’s go back to our grocery store, in this scenario imagine you’re trying to find the dairy section but there are no directions in the store and products are arranged haphazardly. How do you feel? Frustrated?
Developing a user-friendly online experience that allows customers to browse products, make purchases, track payments, access customer support and store locations is essential for supercharging customer growth.
A great user experience will make customers happier, increase conversion rates, and drive customer retention.
Let’s look at actionable examples of how M-Kopa can make buying easy.
Use a Store Locator/Directory to Make Buying Offline Easy
Imagine you’re a customer looking for the closest M-Kopa store. How would you find it?
An M-Kopa Store Locator will enhance the offline buying experience.
By improving the store locator on their website. It will allow users to easily find nearby stores that sell M-Kopa products. The features should include location detection, store listings with contact information and operating hours, map integration, filters, directions, and user reviews.
TLDR:
Use E-commerce to Make Buying Online Easy
To wrap up our examples, let’s imagine a final visit to the grocery store. But hold on a moment! Given your schedule today, it seems impractical. So, let’s consider the alternative of ordering our groceries online. Unfortunately, it turns out that the store doesn’t have an online shopping option. What a letdown!
M-Kopa should offer a user-friendly online buying experience with easy steps. Customers can select their preferred payment frequency (weekly, monthly, or one-time) and the number of instalments (2 to 12).
After providing their delivery address, the system calculates the monthly payment amount. Customers can expect to receive their item after the 1st payment of their instalment period. This streamlined process ensures convenience and transparency for online purchases.
TLDR:
Simplify the customer journey
By offering a user-friendly phone selector quiz and providing simplified information, M-Kopa can empower underbanked customers to make informed decisions about which device best suits their needs and preferences.
The phone selector quiz would guide customers through a series of simple questions to understand their needs, preferences, and budget. Based on their responses, the quiz would recommend suitable device options that align with their requirements.
In addition to the quiz, M-Kopa can provide clear and accessible information about different device options. This information would focus on explaining the features and benefits of each device in plain language, avoiding technical jargon that may be unfamiliar to them.
TLDR:
Optimise Content Strategy Towards Your Target Audience
An analysis of M-Kopa’s keywords vs competitors’ profile shows that their content is currently tailored towards informational intent and brand awareness. Simply put, people who are already aware of M-Kopa and are searching for M-Kopa.
However, there’s an entire audience searching for the general services they provide but cannot find them. Talk about a missed opportunity.
To solve this problem M-Kopa needs to develop high-quality content in multiple formats such as blog posts, emails, PPC, and videos, that educates and engages their target audience.
The content should provide valuable information about buy now pay later, affordable smartphones, solar energy solutions, and financial inclusion to establish M-Kopa as a thought leader in the industry.
CDcare, a BNPL company in Nigeria is able to gather over 30k views across 2 pillar articles by doing exactly this.
By leveraging these digital growth opportunities, M-Kopa can expand its customer base, increase brand visibility, and drive revenue growth in a competitive market.
If you enjoyed reading this or you have a company you’d like me to cover in a future case study, let me know in the comment section.