In rural Kenya, the nearest bank can sometimes feel like it’s on another planet. For the people of Nditime market in Kitui County, that distance is nearly 90 kilometres, a journey that requires time, expensive transport, and considerable inconvenience.
That was the reality in 2015 when a visiting salesman, Patrick Kamwetu, first set foot in the area.
At the time, Patrick was working with Unilever products, moving across towns and markets in Machakos and Kitui. But what struck him most about Nditime wasn’t what people were buying; it was what they lacked.
“Residents here really struggled with sending money and making online transactions. I had experienced M-PESA before, and I wondered, why not help them?” he recalls.
Two years later, in 2017, Patrick returned, not as a salesman, but as Nditime’s very first M-PESA agent.
The arrival of his small green shop was a turning point.
For the first time, families could send and receive money without relying on middlemen, students had a convenient way of receiving school fees from parents, and airtime or online purchases could be handled right in the village.
“The villagers were happy because the service had been brought closer. I helped them send and receive money and even buy airtime,” Patrick said.
But bringing banking convenience to a remote market wasn’t without hurdles. With the nearest bank in Kitui town, topping up the float often meant handing bundles of cash to a trustworthy traveller or closing shop to make the long trip himself.
“Before, if I didn’t find someone reliable going to Kitui, I had no choice but to shut down the business for the day and go myself,” Patrick remembers.
Today, thanks to Safaricom dealers who travel across sub-counties, he can get float without leaving Nditime.
M-PESA has not only brought ease, but also fairness. Before its arrival, families sending money to loved ones often relied on “well-known locals” who would cash out on their behalf, but at a price.
“Now, people don’t have to pay extra just to receive their own money. That story is in the past,” Patrick notes.
Still, challenges remain. Network lags can frustrate customers waiting to deposit or withdraw, especially during high-demand moments such as the school fees season.
“Every day in this business, you have to know your customers’ needs, whether it’s when schools are opening or during festivities, you must prepare float,” he explains.
His wish is for stronger network coverage and more care centres at the sub-county level so that residents in remote places like Nditime can access services with the same ease as those in cities.
“I am grateful to Safaricom for its efforts to elevate Kenyan lives. Through M-PESA, I’ve been able to interact with and create rapport with so many people,” he says.
Today, the Nditime market has five M-PESA shops, a sign of just how deeply the service has been embraced. And at the heart of it all stands Patrick Kamwetu, the salesman who once passed through, saw a gap, and chose to fill it.
