Safaricom offers M-Pesa overdraft service to Kenyan micro-businesses

Details: John Tanner; Category: Mobile Finance; 26 October 2026; 480 views

Kenyan telco Safaricom said on Thursday it has extended its M-Pesa overdraft service to micro-businesses, enabling them to complete business payments even when their available M-Pesa balance is insufficient.

The service, Fuliza Ya Pochi, has been around since 2019 and gives M-Pesa customers and merchants access to an overdraft facility that enables them to complete transactions by providing access to additional funds when they don’t have sufficient funds in their accounts.

The new extension gives customers of M-Pesa’s Pochi La Biashara service – which allows entrepreneurs and informal businesses to separate business funds from personal funds on a single SIM card and mobile number – access to the Fuliza Ya Pochi feature.

This enables them to pay suppliers, make Buy Goods purchases, send money, and settle utility payments, regardless of whether they have enough money in their account at the time, helping them keep their businesses running and serving customers without interruption, said Safaricom group CEO Peter Ndegwa.

“Across Kenya, thousands of micro-businesses face daily cash flow gaps that can mean missed sales, delayed stock purchases, or postponed supplier payments,” he said in a statement. “Fuliza Ya Pochi helps merchants overcome these short-term challenges while continuing to build their businesses. As merchants transact and grow on M-Pesa, they create a pathway to greater financial opportunities.”

The Fuliza Ya Pochi service is available to merchants who have actively used Pochi La Biashara for more than six months. Once they’re enrolled in the service, merchants will receive a Fuliza Ya Pochi limit based on their business activity. Repayments are automatically made from future payments into the merchant's Pochi wallet.

Safaricom said there are over 2 million micro-merchants in Kenya.