Mukuru: Transforming aid disbursements, payroll, and bulk payments in Malawi and Zimbabwe

By partnering with international NGOs such as Action Contre la Faim, Mukuru enables efficient cash transfers to remote households through its innovative mobile disbursement service, bridging critical gaps in financial accessibility.

Tererai Mare, Mukuru's enterprise market development manager presents this case study which unpacks how Mukuru’s EPP is addressing the challenges associated with aid disbursements, payroll, and commercial transactions in underserved communities, including limited financial infrastructure, high transaction costs and issues regarding security, speed and regulations.

Mare also examines how EPP is revolutionising bulk payments in these critical sectors, with a focus on Malawi and Zimbabwe, by tackling the difficulties businesses and aid organisations encounter when serving remote areas:

Mukuru is a financial services platform that offers reliable financial services to 16 million customers across Africa, Asia and Europe.

The firm is building a strong, reliable and resilient financial-payments infrastructure to allow its customers access to new physical and digital services that add value, and is transforming the payments' landscape of commercial and aid payments through its Enterprise Payments Platform (EPP).

EPP is a secure solution for collections and bulk payments, and is built off the successful use case of Mukuru’s widely known remittance services.

The challenge

Before EPP, businesses and nonprofits had to rely on traditional methods such as mobile money and banks to facilitate bulk payments. These methods presented limitations — high transaction and encashment fees, delays, and limited reach in rural areas.

These issues hindered the efficient distribution of aid and management of payroll, especially in vulnerable communities.

Aid organisations faced significant hurdles in making bulk payments, while remote communities had limited access to affordable and convenient financial services. This created delays in aid reaching those in need and added financial pressure on businesses.

The solution

EPP was built on Mukuru’s extensive person-to-person physical and digital payment infrastructure across Africa. The platform, known for its reach and liquidity, has many benefits. These include:

• Instant payouts: Funds reach beneficiaries instantly through cash collection points or digital wallets.
• Traceability: The platform offers full transaction tracking, which enhances transparency. This is vital for aid agencies for financial reporting to secure ongoing funding.
• Competitive fees: Lower costs benefit both businesses and nonprofits.
• Extensive network: Mukuru’s branches, booths and mobile disbursement teams, alongside a rich network of partner locations, provide exceptional reach across southern and eastern Africa.
• Security: The best technology and processes ensure secure transactions.
• Flexibility: EPP caters to aid, commercial, and social grant distribution needs.

Aid agency applications

Malawi

Chiyembekezo Ken Ndala, enterprise sales manager for Malawi at Mukuru, shares that the company partnered with Cadecom National Office for emergency flood relief in the aftermath of a recent cyclone.

“Cadecom used the Mukuru platform to reach 4,520 households across several underserved areas,” Ndala says. The timely distribution of funds allowed families to recover quickly and have their basic needs met.

Mukuru also partners with Yamba Malawi, which provides monthly stipends to teenage mothers. “Yamba Malawi supports teen mothers, each receiving $20 per month for 12 months, with an additional $100 as seed capital after six months.

"This funding helps them care for their children and start small businesses to break the cycle of poverty,” Ndala explains.

As an ongoing project, Mukuru has disbursed over $100,000 (MK183,600,000) to these beneficiaries.

Zimbabwe

Michael Scott, group head of commercial at Mukuru, says that Mukuru has built extensive partnerships with United Nations agencies, including Unicef, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and the World Food Programme (WFP).

“Mukuru was awarded a contract by WFP to distribute monthly cash grants to refugees at the Tongogara Refugee Camp. The EPP platform enables efficient delivery and end-to-end traceability of essential emergency funds to this vulnerable community,” he says.

Scott explains that Mukuru has been awarded prestigious long-term agreements by both Unicef and the IOM, underscoring its capability and reliability in delivering essential financial services across Africa.

Under these agreements, Mukuru has facilitated payments to beneficiaries under emergency social cash transfer programming in Zimbabwe, alongside the provision of payroll services and payments to vendors and workshop participants.

International NGOs, like Action Contre la Faim, have partnered with Mukuru to deliver cash transfers to remote households by means of Mukuru’s mobile disbursement service.

Mukuru’s mobile teams schedule trips to these hard-to-reach areas, providing regular access to financial services and supporting financial inclusion and social upliftment that would otherwise be unattainable.

Payroll and commercial applications

Mare explains that Mukuru also serves the varying needs of businesses needing to make payments to their employees, customers or smaller suppliers, who may not have bank accounts.

“Many workers earn low salaries, making bank accounts unaffordable due to high transaction and maintenance fees.

"The EPP platform enables workers to receive payments efficiently, without encashment or ongoing account fees, addressing a significant financial inclusion gap.”

On the commercial side, Mukuru partners with the likes of Cottco and Premier Tobacco Auction Floors, heavyweights in Zimbabwe’s cotton and tobacco industries, to facilitate payments to small-scale farmers.

“These farmers often don’t have bank accounts and come from far and wide to sell or auction their goods. Mukuru’s EPP ensures they receive payments securely and swiftly.

"A Mukuru cash voucher is as trusted as the USD cash for which it can be exchanged, but safer to travel with on long journeys to and from the auction floors,” Mare adds.

In sum, Mukuru’s EPP platform has revolutionised bulk payments and aid distribution for organisations facing challenges with traditional methods. Whether it’s payroll and commercial settlements for businesses or emergency aid for vulnerable communities, Mukuru delivers efficiency, transparency, and security.

With its vast network and proven ability to reach even the most remote areas, Mukuru continues to drive financial inclusion while streamlining bulk payments, reducing transaction costs, improving traceability and accountability, and minimising delays — critical when delivering aid.