In 1994, Safaricom and Airtel (then Kencell) launched mobile phone services in Kenya. The phones were expensive, the networks were limited and subscribers were few.
But the technology was taking root. Over the next decade, mobile phone penetration grew faster in Kenya than in most developed countries.
By 2007, when M-Pesa launched, Kenya had the infrastructure for a mobile money revolution precisely because mobile phones had spread so rapidly. The technology that would change banking globally was built on a foundation laid by Kenyans who had adopted mobile communication faster than almost anyone expected.