The Green Giant: 18 ways we have grown with Safaricom
Safaricom Plc is, on the 23rd October, celebrating the 18th anniversary, close to two decades of transforming the Kenyan lives. The company, which is currently the largest telcos in the country has undergone many transitions with each step incorporating its customers.
Amidst countless innovations and project implementations across the country, Safaricom Plc has made life easy for many Kenyans. For me and countless others across the country, we have stories to tell, thanks to their products. Here is a look at services and products that the telecommunication giant has innovated and come through for us over the last 18 years.
- M-PESA
Before the introduction of M-PESA in mobile money was a strange term to many. But now, thanks to the service, financial services are more convenient than before. M-PESA, which was the first mobile money in Africa, was exclusive and unique before other telcos started emulating it.
With the service, I don’t see the need to visit the bank to withdraw or send money. I can sit back and relax in my chair and send money to my family, or pay for goods and services in the supermarket, or better still, pay for utility bills among others at home!
The service has driven financial inclusion across the country higher than before. Today, more than 96 percent of households have at least one active M-PESA account, which means we all love it.
It is worth mentioning that through M-PESA, access to mobile money has significantly increased both in female-headed households as well as male-headed households. Thousands of women have successfully transitioned from subsistence farming or being housewives to business or sales as their primary occupation because of easy access to money.
With loan integration platforms and new M-PESA innovations, Safaricom continues to make lives easy for the common citizen.
- M-Shwari
It was launched in November 2012 following a strategic partnership between Safaricom and Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA). Not long after it was launched, the platform attracted many Kenyans of all walks of life.
Typically, M-Shwari is a bank account issued by CBA that enables individuals to access loans of as low as 100 shillings and save money from as little as 1 shilling. Today, more than 10 million customers use the platform to borrow tens of thousands of shillings each day for various financial needs.
I, for one, use the service for my financial needs and not once has it failed me, well, provided I pay the loan on time.
The service, since its inception to July 2018, has disbursed 230 billion shillings in loans with an average of 3, 300 shillings per person. What is your story?
- Airtime Sambaza
The convenience of Airtime Sambaza is incredible! It has made making calls highly convenient. Before one would run to the shop and buy airtime for a friend or family but with the service, through a USSD code, you can transfer airtime from your number to a specific contact.
The service allows both Pre-Pay and Post-Pay subscribers to share airtime of any amount between 5 and 10,000 shillings.
Initially, the service was only for airtime transfer, however, Safaricom PLC included another service; Sambaza Internet. It allows you to send data bundles to other Safaricom customers and it is available for both Pre-Pay and Post-Pay customers.
- Okoa Jahazi
When I am running low on airtime, the first thing that comes to mind is the Okoa Jahazi service. I am a Pre-Pay customer and I can borrow airtime on credit and pay later. One can borrow from as low as 10 shillings and as high as 1000 shillings with a service fee of 10 percent. The credit can be used to buy bundles, send text messages or make calls.
- Safaricom Bundles
With the increase of Smartphone ownership and advancing technology, Safaricom has made interne