I was lucky to visit Kenya earlier in the year. Apart from the usual tourist joys I was amazed by the Kenana Knitters Computer School where Peter teaches up to 20 students at a time on database software. Then I was struck by the universal M-PESA which allows Kenyans to transfer money and also buy goods on a mobile phone. From selling goats to buying drinks in a night club, all is done with M-PESA. The units equivalent to money are held in a separate account on your phone and all transactions are by SMS.
It was fascinating to learn that M-PESA was created by the old colonial power, right here in Cambridge, UK. The website of www.paygsolutions.com says “We are based in Cambridge, UK, which is where M-PESA was developed and supported for 5 years.” Apparently the work was done by Sagentia which spun out of Cambridge Consultants some 25 years ago. It is very strange that I have never heard of this success of the Cambridge Cluster before.
PAYG Solutions has a curious website with lots of talk about teams and Cloud skills but no contact details. There is a link to the blog of the founder, Liz Galpin, who lives “outside Cambridge”. Not even a contact number.
Her blog states “Liz Galpin lives just outside Cambridge and her introduction to mobile money came about when she joined the team at Sagentia plc as the Development Manager, to develop and support the M-Pesa project shortly after its launch in Kenya. Her company, PAYG Solutions, uses mobile technologies, combined with cloud computing in sectors including agriculture and microfinance to provide solutions to help people at the Bottom of the Pyramid save and earn money. Although happily living in the UK, her roots are firmly placed in Africa, where she was born and spent the first 30 years of her life.”
One day I hope to bump into her in Cambridge to hear more of this incredible story.
I want to ask the question “When will we have M-PESA in the UK?”
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