M-PESA helps bring books to more children in Kenya

Growing up in Kenya, Caroline Ndilo inherited her love of reading from her father and it’s a passion she wanted to pass on to her four children. However, she discovered that books weren’t easy to find and weren’t affordable.

Realising others were experiencing the same challenge, she started a Facebook page and began selling books.

Now Book Thirst is a successful online bookstore and mobile library, aimed at transforming the lives of Kenyan children one storybook at a time. Something she says would not have been possible without M-PESA.

Building trust with the customer

“If I didn’t offer my customers a way to pay that they know and trust, I’d lose business. M-PESA really is an important tool for my business because it gives me credibility and makes it possible for me to connect with customers who don’t know me and who are located further away,” explains Caroline.

This has allowed the business to grow because Caroline has been able to reach and secure payment from more customers. By making it easier for more Kenyans to access affordable books, she is playing a part in improving literacy levels and education outcomes in her country.

Supporting small businesses

With more than 60 million customers across seven countries in Africa, M-PESA provides a safe, secure and affordable way to send and receive money, top-up airtime, make bill payments, receive salaries, get short-term loans and much more.

But this is just one way technology can support business growth.

Beyond digital payment solutions, organisations can also enhance efficiency, productivity and customer engagement with technologies like the Cloud, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.