Efforts to make smartphones more affordable for a larger number of Africans while ensuring profitability for sellers are ongoing. In fact, this week has witnessed an alliance between one of Africa’s leading homegrown electronic marketplaces and a financing group, aiming to make smartphones more accessible to Kenyans.
Jumia Group, the company behind the pan-African e-commerce platform Jumia, which operates across nine countries on the continent, has formed a strategic partnership with Watu Credit, a pan-African financing group. This collaboration is designed to help millions of Kenyans purchase smartphones through flexible financing options.
With this arrangement, customers shopping on Jumia can now opt to pay in instalments on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis via mobile money.
The initiative strikes a balance between affordability and responsible credit practices by incorporating Watu Credit’s IoT-enabled lending model. Under this system, if a customer misses a payment, the smartphone will be locked.
Since 2022, Watu Credit has already financed nearly two million devices in Kenya. This new partnership, however, will bring popular premium brands, such as Samsung, within reach for many, offering opportunities for first-time smartphone buyers as well as those looking to upgrade.
Smartphones remain some of Jumia’s best-selling products, and with smartphone penetration in Kenya reaching almost 80%, there is still a significant portion of users who rely on lower-end devices due to financial constraints.
The Jumia-Watu initiative will initially be available through agent-assisted purchases before expanding to a fully online process. Customers will be able to select their desired device, complete a digital know-your-customer (KYC) process, and have the phone delivered directly to their doorstep.
It is clear that reliable smartphones are increasingly crucial for income generation, education, healthcare access, and digital literacy. They also empower small entrepreneurs, students, gig workers, and families, enabling them to participate more fully in Kenya’s digital economy. As such, this partnership represents a major step toward bridging Kenya’s digital divide and empowering communities.
At the same time, buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options hold substantial potential to unlock a large and potentially lucrative market for companies like Jumia and Watu.
