Safaricom Enhances Pochi la Biashara as Women Micro-Entrepreneurs Drive Digital Business Growth

Kenya’s digital financial ecosystem is witnessing a steady transformation as micro-entrepreneurs—particularly women—deeply integrate mobile-based tools into their daily business operations, with Safaricom strengthening its Pochi la Biashara merchant wallet to meet evolving user needs.

Pochi la Biashara is a merchant wallet that enables small business owners to receive payments from customers while keeping business income separate from personal funds, a feature widely viewed as critical for financial discipline in the informal sector.

The service can be accessed through three main channels: USSD (*334#), the M-PESA app (My OneApp), and SIM toolkit, making it widely available even to users without smartphones or consistent internet access.

The platform offers a range of features designed to support micro-entrepreneurs, including dual wallets that separate personal and business funds, Lipa na Pochi payment options, airtime sales with commission earnings, direct agent withdrawals, non-reversible transactions that protect merchants from payment disputes, mini-statements for tracking income, as well as integrated financial tools such as Taasi loans and Ziidi savings and investment options.

According to insights drawn from Safaricom’s customer data, trade representatives (TDRs), call centre feedback, and research conducted in partnership with the GSMA Connected Women programme, adoption of Pochi la Biashara has grown steadily across Kenya’s informal economy. However, analysis shows that many users—especially women micro-entrepreneurs—tend to rely on only a limited set of features, resulting in low active and non-diverse usage of the platform.

The findings further highlight persistent challenges faced by women in digital financial services, including concerns around safety, harassment, privacy, and limited access to working capital to expand their businesses.

In response, Safaricom has refined both the product and its engagement strategy. The company has strengthened its network of Trade Development Representatives (TDRs) to offer hands-on onboarding, practical demonstrations, and continued post-registration support to help users fully utilize the platform.

Additionally, targeted customer value management (CVM) campaigns and call centre outreach have been deployed to encourage broader use of Pochi features, alongside incentives aimed at improving learning and sustained engagement among merchants.

To address financing gaps, Safaricom introduced the Taasi loan feature, which allows micro-entrepreneurs to access working capital based on their business activity within Pochi la Biashara, further linking digital transactions to credit opportunities.

The report concludes that while adoption of digital merchant tools is rising, long-term impact will depend on how effectively providers design for safety, trust, financial empowerment, and inclusive usage patterns—particularly for women operating in Kenya’s informal economy.