Smartphone financing is opening phone ownership to first-time buyers, with 55 per cent of customers using instalment arrangements reportedly acquiring their first devices.
The arrangements allow consumers to acquire smartphones by paying an initial deposit and clearing the balance through daily, weekly or monthly instalments over an agreed period.
Younger consumers drive much of the demand, with 70 per cent of financed smartphone buyers under 35. Most come from rural and semi-urban areas, according to the figures.
The trend comes as smartphone adoption increases in Kenya, with mobile phone ownership remaining uneven between urban and rural households.
Data from the Communications Authority of Kenya shows that smartphone connections reached 50.2 million by March 2026, up from 48.7 million in December 2025. The figures represent connected devices rather than individual smartphone owners.
A joint survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and the communications regulator found that 53.7 per cent of Kenyans aged three and above owned a mobile phone. Ownership stood at 64.6 per cent in urban areas compared with 48.6 per cent in rural areas.
The GSMA identifies handset affordability as the main barrier to smartphone adoption in Africa, citing the cost of devices as a constraint on wider mobile internet use in its January 2026 research.
Figures provided by Samsung indicate that financing accounted for 65 per cent of smartphone purchases in Kenya in 2026, up from 60 per cent in 2025.
George Kebaso, Head of EIP Business in the company's Mobile Division, said more than six million devices were financed across East Africa in 2026, representing estimated year-on-year growth of between 50 and 60 per cent.
Kenya and Tanzania were identified as the region's leading markets for device financing, with adoption also expanding in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The average financing amount increased from about US$100 in 2025 to US$150 in 2026, representing a 50 per cent rise.
The company works with financing providers including Watu, M-KOPA and Sun King to offer instalment arrangements for its smartphones.
Under one financing example provided, a smartphone retailing at Sh15,000 would require an initial deposit of Sh3,000, representing 20 per cent of the purchase price. The remaining Sh12,000 would be paid over a period of between 12 and 16 months.
The company did not disclose the total amount a customer would pay after completing the repayment period, including interest and other applicable fees.
It put the default rate within its device financing ecosystem below 10 per cent but did not disclose the number of borrowers covered or the period used to calculate the figure.
Women account for approximately 45 per cent of repayments within the financing ecosystem. The company clarified that this figure does not represent women's share of financed-device purchases.
It also estimates that about seven million customers in Kenya still need to transition from 2G and 3G services to 4G and smartphone adoption.
