# How fast startups reached people on basic phones

> The start-ups that grew fastest in markets with few smartphones did four things: they rode a network people already used, worked on basic phones by SMS…

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/forces/how-startups-reached-people-on-basic-phones/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## The pattern

The cases below come from Kenya, Senegal, Zambia and Somalia itself. They show the same pattern again and again.

## 1. Ride a network people already use

- **M-Pesa (Kenya)** launched in March 2007 on Safaricom's mobile network, which people already trusted. It reached 2.7 million users by the end of 2007, 6.5 million by the end of 2008 and 14 million by the end of 2011 ([Development Informatics](https://developmentinformatics.org/case-studies/m-pesa-kenya-case-study/)). Its own plan had aimed for 350,000 customers in year one ([Vodafone](https://www.vodafone.com/news/digital-society/m-pesa-created)).
- **M-Shwari**, a savings and loans service built on top of M-Pesa, reached 7.2 million customers in about two years ([FSD Africa](https://fsdafrica.org/the-growth-of-m-shwari-in-kenya-a-market-development-story/)).

## 2. Work on the phone people have

- **Somalia** shows this at home. In 2016, 88% of people aged 16 and over owned a SIM, and 83% of them used mobile money, mostly on basic phones through USSD menus ([World Bank](https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/nasikiliza/a-game-changer-the-prospects-and-pitfalls-of-mobile-money-in-somalia)).
- **Viamo** runs free voice lines that work on any phone. In Zambia it offers 10 free calls a month; about 3 million people made 26.6 million calls from 2015 to 2024, and 66.2% of users were women ([GSMA](https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GSMA_Viamo_Voice-First-Generative-AI-for-Impact_2025.pdf)).
- **Shaqodoon (Somalia and Somaliland)** sent job alerts by SMS on short code 777. About 6,000 people found work within three months of its December 2013 launch ([Red Herring](https://www.redherring.com/internet/somalias-vulnerable-youth-find-work-online)).

## 3. Put agents on the ground

M-Pesa paid shopkeepers, chemists and petrol stations to sign people up and handle cash, and had more than 17,000 agents by the end of 2009 ([Development Informatics](https://developmentinformatics.org/case-studies/m-pesa-kenya-case-study/)). Wave in Senegal built a dense network of 25,000 agents ([TechCabal](https://techcabal.com/2021/10/18/coura-sene-reflects-on-waves-rapid-growth/)).

## 4. Charge very little

Wave charged fees about 70% lower than rivals, and more than half of Senegal's adults were using it within about four years ([TechCabal](https://techcabal.com/2021/10/18/coura-sene-reflects-on-waves-rapid-growth/)). Eneza Education's SMS lessons cost a few cents a day and reached millions of learners ([Pioneers Post](https://pioneerspost.com/news-views/20210104/the-largest-classroom-africa-how-text-messages-mean-millions-of-children-can)).

## 5. Use radio or TV to feed the phone

Kenya's farming show Shamba Shape Up reached 8 million viewers and fed an SMS service, iShamba, with 500,000 subscribers ([Mediae](https://mediae.org/documents/32/Mediae_impact-highlights_doc_copy.pdf)).

## What it means for young Somalis

Somalia already has the networks these start-ups had to wait for: mobile money in almost every pocket, trusted telecom companies and a strong radio habit. The pattern is proven. It is open to anyone who builds on it.

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