About SwiftPesa

SwiftPesa is a free guide to earning, saving and investing for people who live and work in Africa. We explain the money questions people actually search for, such as what M-Pesa or Airtel Money charges on a transfer, how PAYE is worked out on a payslip, how to file a nil return, what a three-bedroom house costs to build, and which money market funds pay the most right now, in plain language and in local currency.

Why SwiftPesa exists

The answers to these questions usually exist, but they are scattered. The tariff is on a provider's website, the tax band is in a revenue authority PDF, the rule change is in a gazette notice and the real-world advice is buried in a forum thread. Most personal-finance writing online is aimed at America or Europe, and assumes a credit score, a pension plan and a bank that answers the phone.

SwiftPesa brings those pieces together in one place, checks them against the official source, and answers the question directly.

Who runs it

SwiftPesa is owned and run by Sarah Andrew. Sarah was born in the UK and lives in Kenya, where she runs six businesses across East Africa. Paying staff and suppliers, filing taxes, registering companies and moving money between mobile money, banks and clients abroad are part of her working week, and they are the same things SwiftPesa readers ask about.

What we cover

• Personal finance: tax, payslips, mobile money charges, pensions, IDs and government services.
• Investing: money market funds, treasury bills and bonds, SACCOs, shares and land.
• Side hustles and business plans: start-up costs, licences and realistic earnings.
• Freelancing: getting paid from abroad, platforms and payment methods.
• Insurance: what cover costs and what it actually pays.

We started in Kenya and now cover Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and a growing number of other countries, including Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Lesotho and Cameroon. See all countries.

Free calculators

Many questions are really sums. Our free calculators work out PAYE and net pay, mobile money and bank transfer charges, SACCO dividends, loan repayments, savings growth and building costs, using each country's current rates.

How we write and check our guides

• Primary sources first. Tax rates, fees and rules come from revenue authorities, central banks, regulators and providers' own tariff pages. We link to them in the guide so you can check for yourself.
• Local and specific. Every guide is written for a particular country, with figures in the local currency.
• Dated and kept current. Each guide shows when its figures were last checked. Rates change often, so guides are reviewed and updated regularly.
• Honest about risk. If something is risky, against a platform's rules or a common scam, we say so plainly.

Read more on how we work.

How SwiftPesa makes money

SwiftPesa is free to read. It is paid for in two ways:

• Advertising. Ads are chosen by ad networks such as Google AdSense, not by us, and are kept separate from the guides.
• The Toolkit. Low-cost tools such as feed formulators, business plans, agreements and the M-Pesa statement analyzer, paid for by M-Pesa. See the Toolkit.

Nobody pays to be recommended in a guide, and we do not accept paid placements.

Not financial advice

Our guides are general information to help you understand your options. They are not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Rates and rules change, so confirm with the provider or a qualified professional before you make a big decision. See our disclaimer.

Get in touch

Found an outdated figure, a mistake or a question we haven't answered? Email hello@swiftpesa.co.ke or use the contact page. Corrections are checked and fixed.