FinTech company with a nose for emerging markets, M-KOPA, has appointed Rajeev Suri as the new Chairperson of its board. Suri is a globally recognised leader in the technology and telecommunications industry. He has previously served as CEO of Nokia and Inmarsat.
At the time of this appointment, Suri serves as the Chairperson of Jamaican Telco, Digicel. He is also a board director at Singtel, a Singaporean telecom company. He will resume his new role on 1st December, 2024.
Suri’s new role will involve providing strategic guidance and insights to the M-KOPA leadership team as they continue to innovate their offerings.
His expertise is expected to be pivotal as M-KOPA refines its AI-powered credit analytics platform and explores new partnerships to better serve underbanked populations.
In his remarks, Suri expressed excitement about joining the fintech company, stating, “M-KOPA represents one of the most exciting fintech propositions, not only in Africa but globally. Their use of leading-edge technologies and AI to solve the critical challenge of digital and financial inclusion is compelling and has the potential to change the way we think about consumers in emerging markets.”
This strategic appointment comes as M-KOPA, widely known for providing affordable smartphones and digital financial services to underserved consumers, seeks to expand its reach in emerging markets.
Suri joins at a time when M-KOPA has achieved significant scale, with over 5 million customers. The company also boasts of already deploying over $1.5 billion in credit to over 5 million customers across five African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda.
Jesse Moore, M-KOPA’s CEO and Co-founder, expressed enthusiasm about the appointment: “We are thrilled to welcome Rajeev to the board as we enter this next phase of growth for the business. His proven leadership in steering international companies through periods of rapid expansion will be invaluable.”
Moore’s comments reflect M-KOPA’s ambitions to solidify its market leadership by scaling its operations and services across the continent.
The company’s business model is built around providing financed smartphones to low-income consumers, using a pay-as-you-go system. Through AI-driven data analytics, M-KOPA also offers digital loans, affordable data subscriptions, and insurance services, building long-term financial relationships with customers.
Founded in 2010, M-KOPA offers solar power systems, smartphones, and electric bikes, which users pay for in small installments. The company has enjoyed an impressive growth in the past year, adding two million customers in the last 15 months.
The fintech is working to hold its lead in PAYGO as more entrants, like D.Light, Sun King, and Aspira, move to capture the sector that targets low-income earners. M-KOPA has raised over $590 million in venture funding across seven rounds, with the latest being a $51 million debt financing in May 2024.
Suri succeeds Elizabeth Littlefield, who is stepping down as Chairperson but will continue to serve as an independent Board Director and Chair of the ESG and Impact Committee. With Suri at the helm, the company, which raised $250 million in 2023 to fuel its expansion across its key markets, aims to pursue opportunities to expand its presence across other regions.
