Mukuru is expanding its digital financial services in Botswana, aiming to turn mobile phones into everyday financial tools rather than devices used mainly for sending and receiving money. The move reflects the growing push across Africa to use digital wallets to widen access to financial services.
Mukuru, a financial services company focused heavily on remittances, already allows customers in Botswana to send and receive money through its mobile wallet. Users can also buy airtime and electricity and pay DStv bills directly from their phones.
The company is now seeking to expand what customers can do with money stored in their Mukuru Wallet. In August, Mukuru launched a Visa-branded Companion Card linked directly to the wallet, allowing customers to make cashless payments at Visa-enabled merchants without needing a traditional bank account.
The development is significant in a country where mobile connectivity is widespread but access to traditional banking remains uneven. According to Mukuru figures reported around the card launch, Botswana has more than four million mobile connections, while about 38% of adults remain without a bank account.
The company sees this gap as an opportunity. Instead of requiring customers to open conventional bank accounts before participating in digital payments, Mukuru is building financial services around the mobile wallet they already use.
The Companion Card is designed to make that wallet more useful beyond person-to-person transfers. Customers can spend directly from their wallet balance at Visa merchants, eliminating the need to first move money into another account. The card also works across Botswana’s mobile networks.
Mukuru’s strategy also fits into a broader shift in African financial technology. Digital wallets are increasingly becoming alternatives to traditional banking for consumers who may have limited access to bank branches or conventional financial products. For many users, the mobile phone is already the most accessible digital device, making it a natural platform for payments and other financial services.
However, expanding digital financial services also requires trust, security and reliable infrastructure. Mukuru operates in Botswana as a registered Electronic Payment Service Provider, while the Companion Card uses Visa’s payment network and security features.
For Mukuru, the ambition goes beyond competing in the remittance market. By allowing customers to store, transfer and spend money from the same digital ecosystem, the company is attempting to make its wallet part of everyday financial life.
The broader significance is that Botswana’s mobile phones could increasingly become gateways to the digital economy. If Mukuru succeeds, customers who once relied mainly on their phones to receive or send money could use the same devices to pay bills, purchase goods, manage balances and make everyday payments.
The strategy highlights a larger trend across Africa: the future of mobile money may be less about moving money and more about giving people a complete financial life on their phones.
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