Paykit eyes small enterprises with Kenyan launch

Payments platform PayKit has launched in Kenya to help businesses manage complex, high-volume transactions more efficiently. Built to support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and digital platforms, PayKit is positioning itself as the infrastructure layer for businesses that need to move money at scale.

Development began in 2023, and over the past three years, the company has continuously refined its technology in response to market demand. During this period, the company focused on setting up its operations and securing the necessary regulatory approvals to operate in Kenya.

This evolution took place against the backdrop of Kenya’s position as a global leader in digital payments, where mobile money penetration now exceeds 98% of the adult population, with more than 51 million active accounts, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya. Annual transaction volumes surpass KES 8.6 trillion.

However, even with this scale and sophistication, a persistent gap exists for businesses managing complex flows of money. This gap is particularly significant given the trajectory of the broader market. Kenya’s digital payments ecosystem continues to expand rapidly, mirroring a continental trend where Africa’s digital payments market is projected to reach approximately $1.5 trillion (about KES 193 trillion) by 2030, driven by rising mobile adoption, e-commerce growth and deepening financial inclusion.

Despite this progress, most payment service providers in Kenya and the wider African continent still focus primarily on consumer-facing wallets or basic collections solutions.

This leaves many businesses, especially SMEs,  without the infrastructure required to manage more complex financial operations. This is especially important because Kenya has approximately 7.4 million MSMEs, which constitute about 98 percent of all business entities in the country, as per data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

These enterprises are vital to the economy, contributing roughly 30 – 40 percent to the GDP and employing over 14.9 million people.

“Digital payments in Kenya have largely solved access. The next challenge is scale and efficiency because businesses today need need to send, reconcile, settle and manage funds across multiple channels and currencies in real time, in addition to receiving payments,” said PayKit’s CEO Beatrice Okeyo.

PayKit responds to the challenge by enabling high-volume disbursements, allowing businesses to pay suppliers and employees quickly and reliably. It also supports faster settlement, helping companies improve cash flow.

Regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya, the platform offers multi-currency capabilities, which are becoming increasingly important as Kenyan businesses expand across borders. The growth of regional trade, alongside the emergence of new payment corridors, now requires businesses to work with systems that can handle cross-border transactions seamlessly.

Another key feature of the platform is intelligent reconciliation, which saves businesses from manual processes in matching payments with transactions, processes that often create inefficiencies and errors. PayKit automates reconciliation, giving companies better visibility and control over their financial operations.

In the past 2.5 months, PayKit has conducted a pilot phase, processing approximately KES 30 million in transaction value, demonstrating early traction and validation of its platform.

“There is a clear need for more advanced payment infrastructure because many businesses in Kenya, and indeed most of Africa, continue to face challenges such as limited interoperability and high operational overheads.

In many sectors, cash and manual processes still play a significant role, highlighting the gap between access to digital payments and the ability to use them efficiently at scale. This is the gap that PayKit sufficiently bridges,” noted Ms. Beatrice.

Looking ahead, PayKit has set ambitious growth targets, aiming to process between 50 million and 60 million transactions across its merchant portal and mobile application by the end of the year.

The company also plans to onboard approximately 15,000 merchants within the same period, while targeting 500,000 mobile app downloads as it scales adoption

PayKit’s focus comes at a time when Kenya’s payments ecosystem is maturing. Having gained traction during its pilot, the company’s next phase of growth is envisioned to make it a trusted partner for businesses in Kenya and across Africa.