Moi Family Involved in M-PESA Fund Fights

The battle for control of M-Pesa-backed unit trusts has entangled the Moi family, with delays in launching the product and Safaricom forming a rival fund.

Safaricom tapped investment banker Genghis Capital as the partner fund manager for the rollout of the unit,
Mali money market fund, in 2019 as the telco raced to broaden its successful M-Pesa mobile money platform into wealth management.

All seemed well until last year, when top State officials expressed discomfort with the Genghis partnership, citing the risk of relying on a single fund manager for
a product that is tipped to control billions of shillings and attract millions of M-Pesa subscribers.

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But behind the uneasiness, there was another factor that made the officials edgy with the Genghis Capital deal: the investment banker’s link to the Moi family, say five people familiar with the product and who sought to speak in private.

A member of the Moi family is said
to be associated with the new owners of Genghis Capital who bought the investment firm in 2016 from directors of fallen Chase Bank.

This was buttressed by the appointment of Gideon Moi’s ally, Alex Chesosi, as chair of Genghis Capital in 2022. Top officials wanted more fund managers to be part of Mali. They cite the risk of one fund manager controlling the billions of shillings,’ said a source, who has direct knowledge of the partnership, but declined to be named.

Safaricom’s Mali fund, administered by Genghis since 2019, has accumulated Sh3.1 billion in assets and ranks 17th among collective schemes. The telco recently received approval for Ziidi, partnering with Standard Investment Bank, ALA Capital, and Sanlam Investments, prompting protests from Genghis.