Twaweza: Safaricom’s connectivity strategy that creates hope for all

To the Kenyan public and to many, Safaricom Limited, is the country’s  leading communications company with the widest and strongest coverage.

Why does Safaricom exist? Robert Collymore, the Chief Executive Officer says, “We exist to fulfill a purpose. The purpose is to transform lives.”

Towards the end of July, 2017, The Kenyan Wall Street reported that, Safaricom (SCOM) had reached a milestone becoming the first company in Kenyan business history to surpass the  KSh 1.0 trillion market capitalization.

However, Bob Collymore said, “Safaricom numbers is a fulfillment of our purpose.”

According to Bob, he believes that the mobile is a tool to generate change. They have increased investments in building a network that acts as a portal to increase opportunities and services in people’s lives.

“We cannot afford to leave anyone behind in this digital transformation,” says Collymore.

This year, the company executed a brand re-positioning after 17 years with the tagline ‘Twaweza’.
The new brand position seeks to connect Kenyans to each other and connect them to knowledge and information in a bid to democratize technology to bring out the best of their trademark resourcefulness, creativity and enterprising spirit.

“We [Safaricom] are calling the spirit, Twaweza, and simply it means that we believe when we come together, great things happen. Safaricom’s future is intimately tied to the future of Kenya and we want to work alongside Kenyans to meet their dreams and aspirations and their wildest imaginings,” said Bob Collymore.

By ensuring no one is left behind, they are improving its network quality as it remains key and continues with their  efforts to increase network coverage, capacity and quality to ensure excellent performance and superior customer experience.

For instance, the chief executive has reiterated that, “M-pesa, mobile money platform is more than just money transfer, it has evolved and become an enabler giving ‘drops of hope’.

Through Twaweza, to make great things happen for the Kenyan masses, Safaricom’s, “Focus on financial inclusion remains critical in our strategy to transform lives. We shall continue to drive the uptake of cashless business payment transactions by merchants, grow the number of transactions by active users and drive further adoption of savings and uptake of loans through M-PESA.”

As Safaricom continues to shine a light to many communities through stories of transformation illustrated on how mobile networks continue to be the critical link between the new interconnected Africa and the rest of the world:

It is bridging digital gaps in the society, restoring  dignity to people in Daabab where children can now access a mobile-based education programme.

Over 100,000 residents from the Kibera informal settlement have benefited from the Safaricom Foundation through the Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), a local development organization funded by the Foundation for the residents to enjoy access to clean water.

“Our business goes beyond providing single communication networks to providing connectivity that creates hope.”

To read more about these transformational stories log onto the Safaricom News portal.