Safaricom Launches Fuliza Ya Pochi for Kenyan Merchants

In a bid to address cash flow challenges faced by informal businesses, Safaricom has introduced Fuliza Ya Pochi, an overdraft facility designed for over one million eligible Pochi La Biashara merchants in Kenya. This new service enables businesses to execute transactions even when their wallet balance is low, thereby facilitating payments to suppliers, purchases, money transfers, and utility bill settlements. The primary objective of Fuliza Ya Pochi is to offer short-term financial flexibility to micro-enterprises that rely heavily on daily transactions.

According to Peter Ndegwa, Group CEO of Safaricom PLC, thousands of micro-businesses in Kenya encounter daily cash flow gaps, which can result in missed sales, delayed stock purchases, or postponed payments to suppliers. Ndegwa stated that Fuliza Ya Pochi would help merchants address their short-term financing needs, creating opportunities for growth through their M-PESA transactions. He noted, “Across Kenya, thousands of micro-businesses face daily cash flow gaps that can mean missed sales, delayed stock purchases, or postponed supplier payments.”

To be eligible for Fuliza Ya Pochi, merchants must have actively used Pochi La Biashara for more than six months. Eligible users can access the facility through the Pochi Mini App on My OneApp or by dialling *334#. Upon enrollment, merchants are assigned an overdraft limit based on their business activity, with repayments automatically deducted from subsequent payments received in their Pochi wallets.

Safaricom’s Pochi La Biashara currently serves over two million micro-merchants, providing a platform for receiving customer payments while keeping business funds separate from personal money. The introduction of Fuliza Ya Pochi extends credit access to a segment of Kenya’s informal economy, where businesses often rely on daily sales and short-term cash flow to sustain operations.

Fuliza Ya Pochi builds upon Safaricom’s existing credit products, including Fuliza, which was introduced in 2019, and Fuliza ya Biashara, which provides overdraft services to qualifying Lipa na M-PESA merchants. The launch of Fuliza Ya Pochi brings Pochi La Biashara merchants into Safaricom’s credit ecosystem, expanding the range of businesses that can access transaction-based financing through M-PESA.

The launch of Fuliza Ya Pochi follows recent measures by Safaricom to reduce the cost of using Pochi La Biashara, including zero-rating customer payments of up to KES 200 and reducing charges by 50% on payments above KES 200, subject to a maximum charge of KES 50. These measures are scheduled to run for three months.

By combining lower transaction costs with overdraft access, Safaricom aims to strengthen Pochi La Biashara’s role in the daily operations of Kenya’s micro-enterprises. The effectiveness of Fuliza Ya Pochi will depend on how well merchants utilize the facility to manage temporary cash shortages, maintain stock, and meet payment obligations without accumulating unsustainable borrowing costs.