Mogo has partnered with technology company ZTE Corporation and its Kenyan distributor, RSC, to expand access to affordable smartphones through flexible financing arrangements targeting consumers and small businesses.
The partnership will enable Kenyans to acquire ZTE smartphones, including the ZTE Blade V80 Max, with deposits starting at KES 100. Customers can then repay the remaining balance through daily instalments over a period of up to 12 months.
According to the companies, applications are processed in less than 20 minutes, subject to verification and approval, with customers able to manage their repayments through the Mogo application.
The partnership comes a year after Mogo entered Kenya’s smartphone financing market, during which the company says it has enabled more than 400,000 Kenyans to acquire devices through instalment-based payment arrangements.
Data from the Communications Authority of Kenya shows that the country had 52.3 million smartphones connected to mobile networks as of June 2026, compared with 27.4 million feature phones.
Smartphone connections increased by 4.2 per cent between March and June 2026, while feature-phone connections declined by 3.9 per cent, highlighting the growing demand for internet-enabled devices.
The companies say the partnership seeks to address affordability challenges that prevent some consumers from acquiring smartphones, despite their growing importance in communication, business and access to digital services.
For small businesses and informal traders, smartphones provide opportunities to photograph products, advertise through digital platforms, communicate with customers, receive orders and accept digital payments.
Mogo Kenya Commercial Manager for Device Financing Pat Sharleen said the initiative aims to make quality smartphones accessible to everyday earners, entrepreneurs and underserved consumers without requiring them to pay the full purchase price upfront.
RSC Chief Executive Officer Omar Abdi said the collaboration combines ZTE’s smartphone portfolio with flexible financing to help more Kenyans overcome the initial cost of acquiring devices and participate in the digital economy.
Applicants are required to present their national identity cards and six-month M-Pesa statements before selecting their preferred devices at participating shops.A GSMA study found that 85 per cent of respondents who did not own smartphones cited affordability as their main obstacle.
Meanwhile, the 2024 FinAccess Household Survey revealed that Kenyans using hire-purchase and lipa mdogo mdogo arrangements increased from 579,242 in 2021 to nearly 1.75 million in 2024, signalling growing acceptance of instalment-based financing.
