Safaricom PLC newly launched investment product; Ziidi Money Market Fund (MMF) is generally low-risk low-return kind of investment.
Unlike other products like Equity Fund investing in high-risk assets such as stocks, currencies, commodities among others, Ziidi MMF invest mostly in interest-earning instruments such as government securities.
Ziidi Money Market Fund has accumulated Sh2.85 billion in assets under management and attracted over 450,000 users within its first month of operation.
The unit trust product, managed in partnership with Standard Investment Bank and ALA Capital Limited, allows M-PESA users to earn daily interest on their investments.
A money market fund professionally manages a pool of money from various investors. Depending on how well the scheme is doing given the state of the market, the investors receive interest every day.
The fund operates within M-PESA's existing transaction limits of Sh500,000 daily and Sh250,000 per transaction, representing Safaricom's strategic expansion beyond payment services into investment products.
CEO Peter Ndegwa frames Ziidi MMF as part of the company's broader initiative to promote financial wellness, with SIB Founder James Wangunyu emphasizing the fund's potential to deliver competitive returns while supporting Kenya's financial inclusion goals through the bottom-up economic model.
Safaricom's best chance to grow as the telco business matures is digital finance. Safaricom should fully transform into a CBK-licensed digital bank.
Ziidi is another step toward capital market democratization. Thanks to Safaricom's collaboration & partnerships, money market fund investing is now simple and safe for everyone.
The platform, introduced in late 2023, has quickly become a hot topic, with many viewing it as a potential game-changer in the investment landscape.
Accessible through the M-Pesa App under the ‘Financial Services’ tab or by dialing 3345#, Ziidi MMF allows users to invest from as little as Ksh. 100 and earn competitive daily interest.
The low entry point makes it an attractive option for Kenyans from all financial backgrounds, unlike traditional money market funds that often require high initial deposits.
Key Features of Ziidi MMF
Low Minimum Investment.
Start investing with just Ksh. 100, making it accessible to everyone.
Zero Transaction Fees.
No charges on deposits or withdrawals, allowing users to maximize their returns.
Secure and Convenient.
Provides a safe platform with easy tracking, ensuring peace of mind for investors.
Competitive Daily Interest.
Users can earn attractive returns with the flexibility of daily interest accrual.
Why Choose Ziidi MMF?
Safaricom, Kenya’s largest mobile service provider, has a longstanding reputation for quality and reliability.
Their flagship product, M-Pesa, launched in 2007, revolutionized mobile money transfer in the country and continues to be a trusted financial solution.
Ziidi MMF builds on this legacy, offering a user-friendly and secure investment solution tailored to the everyday Kenyan.
In other news, Panic and anxiety has gripped Safaricom's Mali Money Market Fund (MMF) platform investors this week following withdrawal challenges when trying to access their invested funds.
This mass withdrawal is as a result of the ongoing troubles faced by Genghis Capital Ltd which is the primary fund manager for the MALI MMF in partnership with Safaricom.
The fund manager's woes began in 2024 in relation to its MALI partnership which resulted in Safaricom opening a 'rival' fund named Ziidi citing technical challenges with MALI platform which has to-date suspended onboarding of new customers.
In Jan 2025, more negative publicity hit Genghis Capital with claims of a looming auction of its assets due to a Sh355M debt incurred in 2017 from a South African business man thereby triggering frantic mass withdrawals from MALI due to investor fear of losing their investments.
In a statement released by Genghis Capital, it re-assured that investor funds are held separately from their assets and in addition, MALI funds are safeguarded by credible institutions such as its trustee: KCB Bank Kenya Limited, Custodian: SBM Bank Kenya Limited and Auditor: RSM Eastern Africa LLP
However, MALI users are hearing none of it and are persistently trying to exit the platform en-masse leading to the growing frustration of withdrawal challenges.
Safaricom on its part has attributed the withdrawal difficulties to technical issues that are actively being addressed until the service resumes to normalcy.
Mali was launched in 2019 as a platform for M-PESA users to grow their money through interests from deposits as low as KSH 100 with zero charges for both deposits and withdrawals.
Since then, MALI has been able to amass over 700K investors with 3 billion assets under management offering an annual yield rate of 15.2% as at January 20th, 2025.
Finally, Safaricom PLC's mobile Money Platform M-Pesa is set to join the Pesalink network, which could significantly reshape Kenya’s digital payments landscape.
Safaricom wants to integrate M-Pesa, Kenya’s largest mobile money platform, into the national interbank payment system, Pesalink, which already connects 39 banks across the country.
According to the proposal submitted jointly with the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the integration is expected to break down the barriers between mobile wallets and traditional bank accounts, creating a more unified payments ecosystem in Kenya.
The move could make transferring money between mobile wallets and bank accounts faster and more seamless for millions of Kenyans, bridging the gap between mobile money and the formal banking sector.
Pesalink, operated by Integrated Payment Services Limited (IPSL), facilitates instant bank-to-bank transfers but does not include mobile money services like M-Pesa.
By joining the network, Safaricom would allow M-Pesa users to transact with any bank without the need for separate agreements between banks and mobile money providers.
It aligns with the CBK’s broader goal of streamlining payments and fostering financial inclusion through a new Fast Payment System (FPS), which aims to allow smooth cross-platform transactions.
“The majority of the industry is already connected to the IPSL switch with Safaricom M-Pesa set to join the switch soon,” Safaricom and KBA said in their report.
The announcement signals the push towards a more integrated payments infrastructure supporting a wider range of financial products and services across Kenya.
Meanwhile, Safaricom and Kenyan commercial banks claim the Central Bank’s (CBK) plan to build a fast payment system (FPS) could cost at least $200 million (KES25.9 billion) and take up to four years to complete.
The FPS aims to enhance interoperability across the payments landscape and reduce transaction costs, but Safaricom and the Kenyan Bankers Association (KBA) argue that it could duplicate existing infrastructure and lead to inefficiencies that could slow innovation in Kenya’s financial sector.
In their joint report, Safaricom and the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) recommended that the CBK should instead enhance existing payment systems such as Pesalink—already used for peer-to-peer payments between banks—rather than creating a costly new system from scratch.
While acknowledging the potential benefits of FPS, both organisations question the $200 million price tag and lengthy timeline.
A key concern raised by KBA and Safaricom is the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) proposed to manage and operate the FPS. The SPV would be owned by the CBK (60%), Safaricom (20%), and commercial banks (20%).
It would require legislative amendments, including amendments to the Central Bank of Kenya Act, the National Payment Systems Act, the National Payment Systems Regulations of 2014, the e-money Regulations of 2013 and an initial investment of $30 million.
The proposed SPV structure would make the FPS a state-owned enterprise under the CBK’s majority control. According to the report, this could introduce bureaucratic delays, slowing innovation.
“The creation of an SPV may mean that streamlining regulations that would deliver immediate benefits within the current payment landscape may be delayed until the SPV and FPS are operationalised,” the proposal said.
While the CBK has not disclosed whether it will pursue the SPV model or upgrade existing infrastructure like Pesalink or M-Pesa, Safaricom and the KBA suggest enhancing existing infrastructure is a cheaper, timely option.
Another significant concern is the mobile market in Kenya, one of the most advanced in the world. Platforms like M-Pesa and Airtel Money dominate the landscape, reporting billions of dollars in transaction value annually.
According to Safaricom and the KBA, the proposed FPS model may not be suited to a mobile money-oriented market.
“It is a high-risk approach as it is an unproven model in a market where payments are predominantly digital and mobile-based. Most FPS implementations from other markets started when cash and/or card payments were dominant,” said the Safaricom and KBA report.
While the report does not address the views of other payment service providers (PSPs), Safaricom and KBA advocated upgrading existing payment systems, a model adopted by Zimbabwe. This would mean designating an existing system, such as M-Pesa or Pesalink, as the primary operator of the FPS.
Instead of creating a new system, Safaricom and KBA propose broadening the ownership of the existing system to include CBK and other payment service providers, SACCOs, micro-finance banks, and other players who may wish to take a direct stake.
Whatever the route CBK takes, payment experts believe that the FPS will lower transaction costs and ease funds transfer across different platforms.