East Africa’s Pesapal Can Operate In Kenya, Tanzania After Getting Approvals

Kenya-based Pesapal, a provider of payments processing services — primarily point of sale (POS) — is touting two recent approvals for conducting business in major East African markets.

One approval came from the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), according to a press release.

“Tanzania’s mobile penetration reached 85 percent by early 2020,” Bupe Mwakalundwa, a sales and marketing manager at Pesapal, said in the release. “Given the growth of mobile commerce transactions in this region, this license reinforces Pesapal’s objective to offer affordable, innovative and easy-to-use solutions for small businesses and consumers alike.”

“Pesapal makes it easy for people and businesses to make, receive and manage payments,” she added in the release. “Pesapal partners with banks, mobile network operators and credit card companies to give its customers as many payment options as possible.”

Pesapal stated in the release that the company has a track record of democratizing payments by providing customized solutions to businesses and customers and will continue that work in Tanzania.

Pesapal also received formal approval to do extensive business in Kenya, according to a separate press release.

Kenya’s Capital Business news outlet quoted Mwakalunda as having said: “The pandemic has accelerated the move to a cash-lite economy. We are investing in Tanzania to reshape the future of commerce. For merchants, digital payments mean reducing costs associated with handling and losing cash, and broadening their customer base as more and more people move away from cash.”

“We are excited about the regulatory approvals,” said Pesapal CEO Mark Mwongela, per Capital Business. “This demonstrates our commitment and ambition to impact the online payments ecosystem. I believe this will enable the eCommerce businesses to grow and expand further in East Africa.”

According to the first release, Pesapal was founded in 2009. In addition to Tanzania and Kenya, the company does business in Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.