After months of teasing, Kenya's leading telco Safaricom has finally gone live with its new M-Pesa product for juniors. Known as M-PESA Go, the new financial product is meant for teens and preteens aged 10 to 17 years.

Safaricom says the service seeks to empower parents and guardians to raise a financially healthy generation who are prepared for a cashless world.

M-PESA Go aims to improve digital money management and financial literacy among young Kenyans. It will enable users to send and receive money, buy airtime and bundles, use Lipa na M-PESA services, and access a customized version of the M-PESA Super App dubbed M-PESA Go App. To safeguard users, M-PESA Go restricts services such as withdrawing money, access to digital loans, and betting or forex payments.

“As M-PESA we are committed to empowering and transforming the lives of everyone, and in M-PESA Go, we are providing a revolutionary product designed for youngsters, but with oversight by parents or guardians. Leveraging the M-PESA Super App, we plan to introduce a financial literacy platform that will equip children with tools for managing money,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom PLC.

To sign up for M-PESA Go, parents and guardians can self-onboard an already registered SIM card via https://safaricom.com/mpesa-go/onboarding or visit any Safaricom outlet. They will be required to have an active SIM card registered on M-PESA, a valid identification document as well as the child’s birth certificate.

Once registered, the juniors can download and do more with the M-PESA Go App, a customized version of the M-PESA Super App. This is a digital lifestyle platform launched by Safaricom in 2021 that provides enhanced M-PESA functionalities and a host of mini-apps that enable customers to complete tasks such as deliveries, ticket booking, shopping, license applications, insurance, government services, utilities, and many more, within the app.

The M-PESA Super App is also the gateway through which parents and guardians can guide their children’s financial journey, as it contains monitoring and tracking features, and parental control features such as setting transaction limits.

One of the Mini-Apps available on the M-PESA Super App is Kodris Africa, the provider of Kenya’s first-ever government-approved program for teaching coding. For 60 days, starting 26th November 2022, parent’s looking to get their children started on the coding journey can purchase an annual Kodris Africa subscription via the M-PESA App and enjoy 50% off.

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