Kenyan start-up MPost moves headquarters to Rwanda

MPost, the Kenyan tech start-up which converts mobile numbers into virtual addresses to promote postal and e-commerce logistics through digital addressing, is relocating its headquarters from Nairobi to Kigali, Rwanda.

The company has been based in Nairobi since its founding in 2016 and cited a more favourable business environment for tech start-ups in Rwanda.

“The business operating environment is more favourable in Rwanda compared to Kenya and this also applies to the cost of running headquarters,” MPost founder and CEO Twahir Mohamed told Citizen Digital on Tuesday.

By transforming mobile numbers into official virtual addresses, the start-up’s platform enables clients to receive notifications whenever they get mail through their postal addresses.

In Kenya, MPost has partnered with the state-owned Postal Corporation (Posta) and mobile network operator Safaricom to offer digitised postal office boxes.

Despite the relocation, MPost however said its Kenya operations will remain even as it taps Rwanda’s market for its expansion plans.

MPost has been operating in Kenya and Rwanda since 2016. The start-up says it has gotten an operating license to enter Burundi and plans to launch operations in the country in the first quarter of 2024.