This archive report was first published on 8 October 2019.
Published on October 8, 2019, Safaricom's M-Pesa has made history by being recognized 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.
Out of over 1,000 projects considered, M-Pesa stood out among the top 50 Most Influential Projects in the last five decades, a testament to its impact on financial inclusion in Kenya.
According to Michael Joseph, CEO of Safaricom, '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 per cent in the last 12 years to stand at more than 82 per cent today.'
PMI's recognition is part of its 50th-anniversary celebration, which includes various activities to recognize the important role project management has played over the past five decades and celebrate where the profession is going.
Notably, M-Pesa has been credited with financial transformation, empowering customers with the agency to receive money from any other phone user in the country.
Research by economists from MIT and Georgetown University in 2017 found that M-Pesa lifted more than 195,000 Kenyan families from extreme poverty.
Project Management Institute's President and CEO, Sunil Prashara, said, '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.'
M-Pesa's impact extends through its ecosystem of more than 1,100 suppliers, 400 active dealers, and more than 167,000 agents who benefit directly from the service.
It has also contributed up to Sh75 billion in revenue to Safaricom and has grown to serve more than 26 million active customers today.
