Payments and e-commerce in Kenya

Discover how Kenyans like to shop and pay online

Kenya

General Information

  • Population 55.0 m
  • Population 15 + 34.5 m
  • Online population 23.3 m
  • Area 580,367 km2
  • Currency KES
  • GDP 109.5 bn $US
  • GDP per capita 1,991 $US
  • Card-based payments
  • Cash-based payments
  • Other
[{"label":"Card-based payments","value":"25"},{"label":"Cash-based payments","value":"40"},{"label":"Other","value":"35"}]
Banked population
  • Kenya 58%
  • Middle East & Africa 46%
  • World 67%
Credit card penetration
  • Kenya 7%
  • Middle East & Africa 8%
  • World 19%
Internet penetration
  • Kenya 42%
  • Middle East & Africa 47%
  • World 62%
Smartphone penetration
  • Kenya 47%
  • Middle East & Africa 43%
  • World 70%

There are a number of factors at play in explaining why Kenyan e-commerce has taken off. The growth of internet penetration in the country, the uptake in mobile money, and of course the pandemic which pushed consumers online.

During the pandemic new markets were brought together who would normally be excluded. For example Twiga Food, an agricultural supply chain for small farmers, worked with Jumai Kenya to sell their goods directly to consumers.

Kenyans spend on average 53.7% of consumer spending per private household on food and beverages.

The most popular Kenyan e-commerce site in July 2022 was jumia.co.ke with 4.49 m visits.

Future e-commerce trends (2021-2026)

B2C e-commerce ($US billion)
2022 2.4
2023 3.0
2024 3.5
2025 4.2
2026 4.6
E-commerce spending per capita ($US)
2022 43
2023 51
2024 60
2025 69
2026 75
E-commerce spending as % of GDP
2022 2.1%
2023 2.3%
2024 2.5%
2025 2.7%
2026 2.7%

Kenya

The E-Commerce Market

Top e-commerce segments

  1. Electronics & Media: 41%
  2. Fashion: 31%
  3. Furniture & Appliances: 13%
  4. Toys, Hobby & DIY: 8%
  5. Food & Personal Care: 7%

Top cross-border shopping origin markets

  1. UAE
  2. India
  3. China
B2C e-commerce growth 20->21
  • Kenya 31.9%
E-commerce % of total retail
  • Kenya 4%
  • Middle East & Africa 9%
  • World 20%
E-commerce completed on a mobile device
  • Kenya 55%
  • Middle East & Africa 47%
  • World 53%

The Credit Card Split

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
[{"label":"Visa","value":"56"},{"label":"Mastercard","value":"44"}]
  • E-commerce market size 1.9 bn $US
  • E-commerce spending per capita 35 $US
  • E-commerce spending as % of GDP 1.8%

The information on our Insights pages has been compiled by us in cooperation with Datamatics and Wright & Brown. The data shown is partially owned by us and partially owned by GlobalData. © 2021 by PPRO Financial Ltd. No data and information can be used for any further publication without the explicit approval of PPRO.

Kenya

Local Payment Methods

BitPay Type Cryptocurrency Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Hyperwallet Type Bank transfer, Gift card, Prepaid voucher Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High PayPal Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Paysera Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High PayU Type Bank transfer Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 2 Market relevance High Skrill Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Airtel Money Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa Market relevance High Allied Wallet Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High UnionPay SecurePay Type Local payment card Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High DaoPay Type Carrier billing Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Google Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High M-Pesa Type Wallet Regions Middle East & Africa Market relevance High Mobiamo Type Carrier billing Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Razer Gold Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High SWIFT Type Bank transfer Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Verve Type Local payment card Regions Middle East & Africa JumiaPay Type Bank transfer Regions Middle East & Africa Market relevance Medium MobiCash Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa Market relevance Medium MTN Mobile Money Type Wallet Regions Middle East & Africa Market relevance Medium PesaLink Type Bank transfer Regions Middle East & Africa Market relevance Medium Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance Medium Boloro Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 G2A Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance Medium NETELLER Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Splitit Type Instalments Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3

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