Come Witness the Launch of Bitpesa in Kenya!!

A revolution in Money Transfers to Kenya!

On May 24th, Nairobi-based company BitPesa began the pilot phase of a new, cheaper, faster way to send money to Kenya. BitPesa offers free money transfers with a highly competitive exchange rate. BitPesa allows people to send money from nearly anywhere in the world to any Kenyan mobile money wallet (M-PESA, Airtel Money, Orange Money and Yu Cash), within minutes.

BitPesa is inviting members of the Nairobi tech and business community to a World Cup Party at Nairobi Startup Garage (4th Floor of Piedmont Plaza on Ngong Road) on Thursday, June 26th from 5-9pm. They will be broadcasting what are sure to be two thrilling football matches at 7:00 pm: Ghana vs. Portugal and US vs. Germany. But to encourage people to come early, BitPesa will be providing beers, bitings, and bitcoins to the first 50 people to show up.

BitPesa is a Kenyan company, whose shareholders include Joe Mucheru, Google East Africa Lead, and Duncan Goldie-Scot, Chairman of Musoni. BitPesa developed the service to offer better value to the Kenyan diaspora who send billions of shillings to Kenya every year. Traditional remittance services currently apply a premium of between 6%-13%. BitPesa offers a much more competitive 3% premium, no additional fees, and transfer to any mobile money wallet within minutes. 

However, BitPesa is also designed to create value for Kenyans in Kenya - for example, if a software developer performs work for an international client, he could be paid in Bitcoin. Or, if a software developer wants to monetize a mobile app or web app, she could put her Bitcoin address on the app and receive payments from anywhere in the world, regardless of country or currency. Then using BitPesa’s online platform, the developer can convert his/her Bitcoins into Kenyan Shillings, which are deposited into any mobile money wallet within minutes. BitPesa is also developing an update to its site that will allow Kenyan NGOs to receive international donations via Bitcoin and convert these into Kenyan Shillings at zero cost. 

To learn more about BitPesa, visit their website, follow them on Twitter at @BitPesa and Like their Facebook Page.

To register for the World Cup Party on June 26th, RSVP HERE.

I hope you are keeping warm in this very cold weather! See you there!