Why we chose M-Pesa as our first payment method

When we built Elimu Africa, we had a choice about how learners would pay for Pro. We could have started with cards. Instead, we started with M-Pesa.

The reason is simple: most people we want to serve do not have or prefer to use a credit card, but nearly everyone has M-Pesa on their phone. If we wanted education to be truly accessible, payments had to fit the way people already live.

We integrated M-Pesa via IntaSend so that checking out is literally entering your phone number and approving a prompt on your handset. No card number, no billing address — just the familiar lipa na M-Pesa flow.

We price in Kenyan Shillings, not dollars, and we keep a simple monthly, annual and lifetime model so there are no surprises. Payment is the last mile of accessibility, and we wanted to get it right from day one.