Preferential or Predatory? Safaricom’s Ziidi Faces Pushback Over M-PESA Advantage

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Preferential or Predatory? Safaricom’s Ziidi Faces Pushback Over M-PESA Advantage

Safaricom’s latest money market product, Ziidi, is drawing scrutiny following a formal complaint lodged with the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK). The complaint, filed by I.C. Law LLP on behalf of Cytonn CEO Edwin Dande, accuses the telco of anti-competitive behaviour for allegedly allowing Ziidi free transactional access to M-PESA, while competing funds bear the full cost—costs typically passed on to their customers.

The complaint argues that this arrangement violates Section 21 of Kenya’s Competition Act, which prohibits practices that apply dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions. With Safaricom controlling over 91% of Kenya’s mobile money market, the concern is that Ziidi’s free ride on M-PESA gives it an outsized edge in customer acquisition and retention—regardless of investment performance.

Other fund managers, including Standard Investment Bank, ALA Capital, and Sanlam Investments East Africa—who are partnered with Ziidi—are seen as indirect beneficiaries of this pricing advantage. Rival investors, meanwhile, are charged between KES 10 and KES 60 per transaction. The complainants argue that this creates a “restrictive vertical agreement” between Safaricom and Ziidi that distorts market parity.

A Legacy of Tension—and a Growing Market at Stake

Ziidi’s rollout comes on the heels of Safaricom’s earlier fund, Mali, which has been inactive since early 2025. Genghis Capital, Mali’s fund manager, previously accused Safaricom of triggering a liquidity squeeze and rerouting users to Ziidi without their consent. Though both Mali and Ziidi remain visible in the M-PESA app, only Ziidi is currently operational—with over 1 million users and KES 6 billion ($46 million) in assets under management.

The complaint to CAK renews calls for regulatory intervention as Kenya’s money market space becomes increasingly competitive. As of June 2024, money market funds accounted for KES 171.2 billion ($1.3 billion)—over two-thirds of the country’s total collective investments. In this context, critics argue, platform neutrality matters. Allowing one player preferential access risks tilting the field toward vertically integrated models and weakening investor confidence in Kenya’s digital finance ecosystem.