Most acquisitions arrive with a press release and a quote from the CEO. This one arrived as a footnote. On 5 October 2026, M-KOPA filed its 2025 accounts at Companies House in the UK. Buried in the notes was a line saying the company had bought a small Finnish software firm called KilpiTek Oy for about $8 million. Nobody had announced it, and the deal had actually closed months earlier, on 26 March.
KilpiTek makes the software that switches a phone off when a customer stops paying. For a company that has sold millions of phones on credit, that is not a side detail. It is the lock on the vault.
The key fact: M-KOPA paid $8 million for 100% of KilpiTek, about $2.67 million in cash and about $5.33 million in M-KOPA equity, deferred payments or staff remuneration, according to the accounts as reported by Tech-ish. M-KOPA says the deal strengthens its control over a critical part of its technology stack.
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What Happened
M-KOPA, the pay-as-you-go lender that started in Kenya in 2011, bought KilpiTek Oy, a software company based in Tampere, Finland. The company's own website lists device locking, software development and device management as its services, and says its security products support pay-as-you-go and micro-financing businesses. The Condia reports that KilpiTek was founded in 2023 by five co-founders.
The accounts treat the purchase as a non-adjusting event after the reporting date, so it did not change the 2025 results. The purchase price allocation, which splits the money between software, other assets and goodwill, was not finished when the board approved the accounts on 30 June. Expect that detail in the 2026 accounts. M-KOPA has not disclosed KilpiTek's revenue, profit or headcount.
The equity portion deserves a careful read. The accounts describe the $5.33 million balance as an equity instrument, deferred consideration and/or remuneration, and do not split it. That wording often means part of the money depends on KilpiTek's team staying on. We cannot confirm that from the filing alone.
How M-KOPA Got Here
M-KOPA began by financing solar home systems on pay-as-you-go terms, using IoT locks to cut power when a customer missed payments. In 2020 it added smartphone financing, and the model grew from there into digital loans and electric motorbikes. Its 15th anniversary announcement on 8 October says it has now served 10 million customers across Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and South Africa, with 3 million added in the past 12 months.
Until now, the phone lock came from someone else. Samsung's Knox software and HMD's Softlock service are the licensed tools lenders in this space have relied on, and M-KOPA has been a named user of both. Owning the lock in-house means owning the part of the product that decides how much money comes back when a customer defaults.
The Numbers Behind the Deal
The 2025 accounts, analysed by Launch Base Africa, show why control of the lock matters. M-KOPA reports record revenue of about $600 million, up 45%, and a net profit of $4.8 million against a restated loss of $21.2 million in 2024. But the engine has changed.
| Metric | 2025 figure |
|---|---|
| Total revenue (gross income) | about $600M, up 45% |
| Revenue from product sales | $363.4M, up 45% |
| Gross margin on product sales | 15.9%, down from 27.0% |
| Interest income | $236.3M, up 45% |
| Credit loss charge | $90.9M, about 38.5% of interest income |
| Net profit | $4.8M (2024 restated loss: $21.2M) |
| Operating cash outflow | $69.0M (2024: $61.7M) |
| Active customers, end of 2025 | 3.4M, up 49% |
| Total borrowings | $237.7M |
The pattern is clear. Selling the device now earns a thinner margin each year. The money is in the lending, and lending only pays if people repay. That is why the credit loss line, at $90.9 million, matters more than almost any other number on the page.
There is one figure to treat with care. Launch Base Africa reports a credit loss provision covering about 47% of receivables. M-KOPA told the outlet that this reflects an accounting methodology change under IFRS 9, not weaker collections, and that it collects about 90% of what it is owed on a cash basis. That is the company's own statement, and we cannot independently verify it.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2011 | M-KOPA launches in Kenya with solar financing |
| 2020 | Smartphone financing added |
| 26 March 2026 | M-KOPA takes control of KilpiTek |
| 30 June 2026 | Board approves the 2025 accounts |
| 5 October 2026 | Accounts filed at Companies House |
| 8 October 2026 | M-KOPA announces 10 million customers and $600M revenue |
Why It Matters
This is a bet on vertical integration. M-KOPA already assembles smartphones at what it calls Africa's largest smartphone assembly factory, in Kenya. Add its own lock software and the company now controls the device, the financing and the enforcement. Each link it owns is one fewer supplier that can raise prices or change terms.
It is also a sign of where African fintech is heading. Buying small, specialised teams to pull a key capability in-house is becoming common. In September, crypto platform Luno bought Nairobi's GTXN to own its cross-border payment rails, with terms undisclosed, according to WeeTracker. Weeks later, Lagos electric mobility company MAX extended its Series B3 round to $29 million with an undisclosed investment from Nithio, per WeeTracker. Different sectors, same instinct: own the part of the stack that protects the margin.
For customers, the stakes are real. A locked phone is a lost phone for people who use it to earn a living. M-KOPA says it sends a reminder before deactivation and offers a chance to pay or discuss the account. Whether that holds as the company scales, with about 10,000 new customers a day, is worth watching.
Lessons for African Founders
- Know your single point of failure. If one vendor's software decides your recoveries, your margins belong partly to that vendor. M-KOPA fixed that with a small acquisition.
- Small acquisitions can be the smartest ones. $8 million is tiny next to $600 million in revenue, yet it secures a core capability.
- Margins move from product to financing. Hardware margins shrank from 27.0% to 15.9% in a year. Check where your real profit sits.
- Disclose early. A deal found in a regulatory filing before any announcement invites questions. Founders who tell their own story keep control of it.
- Profit is not cash. A net profit of $4.8 million sits beside a $69.0 million operating cash outflow. Growth on credit needs funding, and M-KOPA carries $237.7 million of borrowings.
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What to Watch
- The 2026 accounts, which should show how the $8 million was split between software and goodwill.
- Whether M-KOPA moves its phone fleet off third-party lock software, and how fast.
- Credit loss and collection data for Nigeria, its fastest-growing market.
- A planned $30 million senior debt facility from FMO for electric mobility, reported by Launch Base Africa and not yet confirmed by M-KOPA in the sources we reviewed.
- Whether other lenders in the sector copy the move.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did M-KOPA pay for KilpiTek?
About $8 million. The accounts show roughly $2.67 million in cash and $5.33 million described as an equity instrument, deferred consideration and/or remuneration. The split of that second amount is not disclosed.
When did the deal happen?
M-KOPA took control of KilpiTek on 26 March 2026. The deal became public when M-KOPA filed its 2025 accounts at Companies House on 5 October 2026.
What does KilpiTek do?
It is a Tampere, Finland software company that builds device-locking, device management and software development tools. Its products support pay-as-you-go and micro-financing businesses, where a lender can restrict a phone after missed payments.
Is M-KOPA profitable?
Its 2025 accounts show a net profit of $4.8 million, compared with a restated loss of $21.2 million in 2024. Operating cash flow was still negative at $69.0 million, so the business depends on borrowing and equity to fund growth.
The takeaway: M-KOPA did not buy a growth story. It bought control. As margins shift from selling phones to lending against them, the company that owns the lock owns the risk.
