Barely two weeks after it's launch, M-Akiba has crossed the 50% subscription rate with 61,000 subscribers.
By Wednesday evening, Kenyans had bought a staggering Sh75.2 Million bond through M-pesa and Airtel money.
Safaricom CEO Boby Collymore disclosed that by Wednesday M-pesa had accounted for Sh42 Million on M-Akiba investments
“We’re still waiting for the central bank to give some guidance on this. I think they’ve taken a rightfully cautious position,” Collymore stated.
The new figures represent a 50.1 percent subscription rate for the initial bond offer of Sh150 million that opened last week on Thursday and closes on April 10.
A bigger launch targeting to raise Sh4.85 billion bond is planned for June and will be officially be unveiled by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
For one to access M- Akiba, which is a mobile-only government bond, the following requirements are needed:
· You must hold a Kenyan citizenship
· Deposit a minimum of $30 (Sh3000)
· Hold a dully registered mobile line either Safaricom or Airtel
One has to follow the following process to be allowed to trade:
The first step is dialling *889# on your handset and following simple steps to open a CDS account. The process is such that one will be directed to the registration process and all the necessary Central Bank of Kenya guidelines of Know Your Customer (KYC) verified in three or less simple steps.
· The good news is any phone can access this process be it a smartphone or a simple feature phone.