The M-Pesa Foundation has launched Wezesha Mama, a bold, national programme to equip more than 500 women’s groups across Kenya with business support, financial literacy, and funding.

Unveiled during the M-PESA Sokoni Festival at Mombasa Sports Club on June 5, 2025, the initiative marks 15 years of the Foundation’s community impact and underpins its pledge to grassroots economic empowerment.

“Wezesha Mama is not just a programme, it is a movement to equip women-led groups with the tools they need to succeed. When women rise, entire communities rise,” said M-Pesa Foundation Chairman Nicholas Nganga.

Wezesha Mama offers broad support; from digital and financial literacy to branding, marketing, and product development, tackling the real-world hurdles faced by women entrepreneurs.

A 12-month competitive framework will see the top three groups in each of the five regions receive grants of Sh500,000, Sh300,000, and Sh200,000.

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Winners will also join the M-PESA Mama Network, a national peer learning and support platform designed for long-term impact.

The programme builds on the Foundation’s past collaborations with Hand in Hand East Africa and Rose Women Foundation, which have empowered thousands of women with training and access to financing.

Wezesha Mama also aligns with broader national trends in supporting women in business, such as Safaricom Foundation’s Sh120 million Wezesha Agri-Eco Hub in Busia and Equity Group’s USD500 million MSME facility focused on women-led enterprises.

Rolling out from the Coast to all 47 counties, Wezesha Mama is structured to ensure inclusivity and tackle the urban-rural divide when it comes to access to business resources.

By focusing on registered women’s groups, the initiative taps into the power of collective action and in doing so, is seeking to ignite lasting, community-wide economic change.

The Thursday event programme concluded with the M-Pesa Agent Awards to recognize the agents as the backbone of the success of M-PESA and the sustained growth of Safaricom.

On Saturday, the Coast Edition of the M-Pesa Sokoni Festival will climax at Mombasa Sports Club with loads of entertainment, family fun and unbeatable offers lined up by Safaricom.