Safaricom, the largest telecommunications provider in Kenya, saw growth in its money transfer platform M-Pesa as it waived fees for small transactions, in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus through in-person payments. Launched in Kenya in 2007, M-Pesa is now available in seven African countries and used for transactions worth $12 billion each month, according to Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa. In an interview with CNN, Ndegwa says, “Telecommunication businesses will make a big difference to free trade in Africa. I’m really delighted to have worked in both East Africa and also in the West, in Ghana and Nigeria — and seeing how little trade flows across between East and West, I think there’s a real opportunity to enhance that, and telecommunication companies play a big role.”

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