A fresh crisis is looming between investment bank Genghis Capital and Safaricom regarding M-Pesa-backed unit trusts, following a fallout over the launch of Safaricom’s new Ziidi Money Market Fund with new partners.
Meanwhile, Safaricom’s previous Mali fund, developed in collaboration with Genghis, has amassed Sh3.1 billion in assets.
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Genghis Capital accuse Safaricom of business fraud
Genghis Capital has accused Safaricom of business fraud, claiming customer misdirection and a data breach in a protest letter filed on December 3.
Safaricom’s recently approved Ziidi fund collaboration with Standard Investment Bank, ALA Capital, and Sanlam Investments is at the heart of the dispute, while Mali, which was introduced in 2019, is still in the experimental stage.
In defence of the new fund, Safaricom argues that delays in the Mali fund’s debut were due to Genghis’s unreliable technical platform.
The Mali fund, the 17th-largest collective scheme, has made Sh1.5 billion in investments in fixed deposits and Sh595.9 million in government securities, generating Sh11.6 million in revenue for Safaricom.
Read also: Safaricom launch Ziidi Money Market Fund amid dispute over Mali’s ownership
Background of the Safaricom, Genghis Capital crisis
Techpression reported last month, Safaricom launched the Ziidi Money Market Fund in collaboration with Sanlam Investments East Africa, ALA Capital Limited, and Standard Investment Bank (SIB), effectively sidelining its original partner, Genghis Capital Ltd.
In 2019, Safaricom teamed up with Kenyan investment bank Genghis Capital to create its first Money Market Fund (MMF), Mali. However, a fallout occurred between the two after Safaricom’s plan to incorporate three additional fund managers into the Mali MMF.
As a result, Safaricom formed a new partnership with Sanlam, ALA Capital, and SIB to develop the Ziidi MMF, positioning it as a direct competitor to Mali.
Both MMFs are integrated with M-Pesa, Safaricom’s mobile money platform.