Show all / Hide all

Safaricom Gets The Market Talking With First Ever Dynamic Discount Loaded Super Ongea Tariff

Wednesday, 16^th September 2009…….Listed and leading telecoms operator Safaricom has launched another first: a tariff that allows its subscribers to enjoy discounts based on time of calling and location.

Branded Supa Ongea, the tariff is backed by a technology called Dynamic Discounting Service (DDS), and presents another ground-breaking innovation from Safaricom.

“This great invention will give our prepay customers real value for money through exciting discounts in these tough economic times when everyone is looking for authentic bargains,” said Michael Joseph, Safaricom Chief Executive Officer.

The revolutionary tariff, the first of its kind in Kenya, will see subscribers enjoy various discounts on the go, depending on their location and the time of calling.

With the tagline ‘the tariff where price moves,’ the new tariff presents a huge enhancement on the current Ongea tariff. It will see subscribers pay amounts ranging from as low as 80 Cents to Ksh 8 according to their location and the timing of their calls, based on Safaricom’s popular per second billing.

Building on Safaricom’s strategy of dynamically answering its customers’ needs, the new service is expected to make the subscriber have a real, value added experience and hence validate the ‘Niko na Safaricom’ experience.

To enjoy the huge discounts, subscribers will need to migrate to the tariff at no cost by dialing *212*5#. Customers will get free information on available discounts at their present location and time either through the Cell Broadcast Service (CBS), a functionality that has already been activated on the network, or by sending a query to *155#. The Cell Broadcast Service is a feature designed for simultaneous delivery of text messages to multiple users in a specified area. Subscribers are able to view the message on their handset screens once the service is activated on the phone.

Mr. Joseph said Safaricom would continue to delight its customers by consistently offering innovative and relevant products and services that meet their changing needs, as the established market leader.

“This is a revolutionary product, the first of its kind in the Kenyan market, offering call discounts on a continuous and dynamic model. This is a permanent tariff and not a promotion,” he said.

PostPay subscribers have also started enjoying huge discounts, especially during off-peak hours. All Safaricom PostPay subscribers, individual and corporate, have been automatically migrated to a new discounted tariff, which offers on-net call discounts of up to 85 per cent, off the previous rate of Ksh7 per minute. They will now be able to call at a low of Ksh1 a minute between midnight and 6 am and Ksh5 between 8 pm and midnight. Calls between 6 am to 8 pm will be charged at Ksh7 per minute. 

ABOUT SAFARICOM: With a subscriber base of over 14 million and about 2,000 base stations across the country, Safaricom is Kenya’s leading total telecommunications services provider with a huge investment and market leadership in both voice and data services.

Formed at the turn of the decade as a joint venture between Vodafone and Telkom Kenya, the firm has built a solid reputation as a hot-house for innovation. Two years ago, it pioneered M-PESA, the first mobile money transfer service, anywhere in the world. Only recently, Safaricom, in another global first, became the first firm to commercially launch a solar-powered phone, Simu ya Solar.

Safaricom is set to spend about Sh10 billion to roll out 477 new base stations in the current financial year, further deepening its unmatched network quality and coverage in Kenya.

Safaricom Unveils New SH 23M Base Station in West Pokot, Supplies Electricity to Local School

Kacheliba, Saturday, September 5^th, 2009…Listed telecoms operator Safaricom has today unveiled a new Base Transmission Station (BTS) in Kacheliba, West Pokot.

The rollout of the new unit, which has been put up at an estimated cost of Sh23 million, is in line with the company’s commitment to enhance the quality of communication in all areas across the country.

The BTS will also be used to generate electricity for a local school, in a move meant to enhance education standards in the area. Thus, the base station presents a unique investment model by the firm which combines the pursuit of commercial objectives with corporate giving.

Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph said the company would continue to roll out its network in all parts of the country, including those traditionally ignored by those driven purely by profit.

“This BTS is testimony to our resolve to provide modern communication services even in the remotest parts of this country. We are not waiting for regulatory prodding to do it. We are doing it because we know it is the right thing to do. 

Safaricom is committed to ensuring that our subscribers get the best services while at the same time sharing with them some of the benefits that come with hosting our facilities in their localities. It is a unique tie-up between commerce and corporate giving that we believe makes good business sense in the long run,” said Mr. Joseph

With a subscriber base of over 14 million, Safaricom already has over 2,000 base stations in all parts of Kenya, assuring it of the widest possible coverage by any operator in the market. During the current financial year, the company plans spend about Sh10 billion to roll out 477 new BTSs, further deepening the quality of the Safaricom network in Kenya.

Also present during the launch was the Minister for Information and Communication Samuel Poghisio, who is also the area MP. 

Mr. Joseph said the company would continue innovating to provide the best and comprehensive communication services to its growing subscriber base.

“Communication is a critical component of development. Even in hardship situations like the current food shortage and rampant insecurity, it takes communication to mobilize assistance and take stock of how severe the situation is,” said Mr. Joseph.

Safaricom staffers donate food, bringing hope to residents of Kacheliba.

Kacheliba, Kenya Saturday 5^th September 2009………Safaricom staffers have today distributed food items worth Sh1 million to residents of Kacheliba.

The company’s employees, led by Chief Executive Officer Michael Joseph, donated the food to over 1,000 starving families in the famine-ravaged area, the culmination of a unique campaign initiated by employees of the listed telecoms firm.

Dubbed Skip-a-Meal, the campaign involved Safaricom staff foregoing meals in order to raise funds to buy food for Kenyans affected by the current food shortage in the country. The campaign saw close to Sh500,000 raised. The firm’s corporate responsibility wing, Safaricom Foundation, doubled the amount in an effort to reach and touch the lives of as main families as possible.

Kacheliba, West Pokot, an area largely populated by a pastoralist community, was chosen because it emerged as one of the areas where families were most affected by the drought conditions currently ravaging parts of Kenya.

During the event also attended by Information and Communications Minister Samuel Poghisio who is also the local MP, the Safaricom CEO challenged the government to come up with sustainable initiatives that would cushion vulnerable communities from hunger and famine.

“I would like to challenge the authorities to come up with sustainable measures aimed at taming this annual phenomenon. The perennial food shortages in the country can be addressed by increasing land under irrigation while at the same time empowering pastoral communities that are always hard hit by the famine,” said Mr. Joseph.

The Kenya Red Cross handled the distribution logistics of the food that was flagged off from the company’s headquarters on Thursday.

Safaricom Foundation trustee Joseph Ogutu said the donation was in line with the company’s commitment to supporting worthy causes among local communities.

“Safaricom has been at the forefront in supporting worthy causes such as the provision of clean water and generally assisting communities in which it operates, through the Foundation,” said Mr. Ogutu, who also doubles up as the firm’s chief human resources officer.

Thousands of people are threatened with starvation in the dry areas of Kacheliba in West Pokot and many other places in the country.

“At Safaricom Foundation, we understand how bad the situation can be for families going without food as a result of continued famine. It is with this in mind that our staff members decided to skip meals and raise money that has been used to purchase the foodstuffs we are donating today,” said Mr.Ogutu.

Mr. Joseph appealed to other organizations to join hands with the government in initiatives aimed at containing further starvation in the country.

Over 25 Safaricom staff members were present and participated in the food distribution exercise.

M-PESA in partnership with Grundfos for rural water provision

Kitui, September 4, 2009........Listed telecoms operator Safaricom has entered into a partnership with pump manufacturer Grundfos LIFELINK that allows rural communities to access safe water and pay for it through the M-PESA money transfer service. 

The unique partnership officially launched in Katitika, Kitui District today, uses M-PESA’s Pay Bill functionality. It transfers a subscriber’s M-PESA balance to a smart card which can then be used to draw water at subsidized rates from specially-calibrated pumps constructed by Grundfos LIFELINK.  

Speaking during the launch, Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Michael Joseph said the partnership was in line with the company’s commitment to supporting worthy causes within communities and deploying appropriate technologies to answer society’s challenges. 

“Safaricom is at the forefront of supporting worthy causes such as the provision of clean, safe drinking water and generally assisting the communities in which we operate. This principle is not just ingrained in our corporate giving function. It is at the very core of our commercial drive as M-PESA shows,” said Joseph. 

Grundfos LIFELINK’s General Manager Lars Lauren said the company would use its wide experience in the manufacture and maintenance of pumps to ensure communities in water-deficient areas have a steady flow of safe drinking water. 

“With this launch, rural water supply in Kenya takes a leap into the future with a new and sustainable solution for small rural communities. By using a smart card, financial sustainability and good governance is ensured and the exchange of cash is avoided. The price of water will be close to the prices generally paid for the same in the rural areas,” said Mr. Laursen. 

Under the arrangement between M-PESA and Grundfos LIFELINK, each user is provided with a smart card fitted with a micro-chip. The user is able to buy water by depositing money from their M-PESA account into a Grundfos M-PESA business account under the Pay Bill functionality.  

The money is then loaded into the user’s smart card. Each time the user needs to buy water, the smart card is inserted into a slot on the tapping point and water automatically starts running until the card is removed and the amount corresponding to the amount of water tapped is deducted from the card. 

The project has several inbuilt features to ensure sustainability. Through M-PESA, the beneficiaries contribute to a community trust that pays for the solar powered water pump from Grundfos. The money also caters for the maintenance of the pump. The community acquires the water pumping system on credit and at affordable rates. The system has a business model that enables the communities to acquire the pump while paying for the investment gradually through utility fees.  

Mr. Joseph said that apart from being a reliable money transfer service, M-PESA would continue to enter into strategic partnerships with other institutions aimed at improving lives and meeting changing customer requirements. Such initiatives have been a major driver for the service’s leadership in Kenya. 

“M-PESA will continuously seek strategic partnerships with key service providers in other industries such as public utility companies, government agencies, banks and other financial institutions and other service providers in our endeavour to come up with innovative products and services to meet the requirements of our customers and business partners,” said Joseph. 

The project, whose launch was presided over by Water Minister Charity Ngilu is the first one of its kind in Kenya with a commitment from the partners to spread it to other drought-prone areas. Safaricom Foundation, the telecom firm’s corporate giving arm, which runs a portfolio of water projects in the country, is already in talks with Grundfos LIFELINK to use the model to embed accountable and sustainable community management in some of its projects. 

The model also includes a local service organisation for regular maintenance of the system and service calls. Courtesy of the Safaricom infrastructure, the unit’s performance is monitored real-time via the Internet and failure messages automatically relayed. 

For environmental sustainability, the water systems run entirely on solar energy. This eliminates problems and expenses traditionally associated with diesel-driven or hand-operated pumps. 

About Grundfos LIFELINK: Grundfos LIFELINK is a subsidiary of the world leading water pump manufacturer Grundfos, which employs more than 18,500 people in 81 companies in 45 countries worldwide. With an annual production of more than 16 million pump units, Grundfos is one of the world's leading pump manufacturers. The Grundfos Group has more than 60 years of experience in developing, selling and servicing pumps for water supply, industry and building services. It equally has a long tradition for innovation and corporate social responsibility. 

About Safaricom’s M-PESA service: Launched in partnership with Vodafone in March 2007, Safaricom’s M-PESA is the first commercial mobile money transfer system anywhere in the world. Designed to answer to the needs of the unbanked and people outside the formal financial system, this trailblazing innovation has had phenomenal success, to global acclaim. According to July 2009 figures, M-PESA today serves a growing clientele of over 7 million subscribers through an agency network estimated at over 12,000. It has handled over Sh210 billion in person-to-person transfers since launch, while the monthly cash flow has reached Sh20 billion.

Safaricom launches Internet promotion

Nairobi, Tuesday, September 2…Listed telecoms firm Safaricom has today launched a consumer Internet promotion through which its subscribers stand to win a number of prizes. 

Dubbed Surf2Win Reloaded, the activation will see the firm’s subscribers rewarded for accessing and downloading Internet content using their mobile phones through the firm’s popular portal, www.safaricom.com. 

Among the prizes on offer in weekly draws will be weekly prizes of Sh100,000 in cash, a laptop, 3G phones, 3G modems and Sh70,000 in air-time. The promotion will run for 8 weeks. 

Safaricom Chief Executive Michael Joseph welcomed subscribers to participate in the telecom firm’s latest promotion, saying his firm had come up with Kenya’s best Internet experience. 

“I invite our subscribers to take advantage of this promotion and make as many downloads as possible in order to win. 

The local data market has lately been inundated by claims, but only Safaricom can offer broadband service through the country’s only 3G network backed by a peerless Wimax and fibre platform,” said Mr. Joseph. 

Already, the number of subscribers who access the Internet through the Safaricom network has hit 1.7 million and growing, heralding the successful positioning of Safaricom as a prime provider of Internet services, in a market hitherto dominated by traditional ISPs.  

This is in line with global trends that indicate most residents of the developing world are likely to have their first Internet experience through the mobile phone.

With the recent connection to the Seacom undersea cable, Safaricom subscribers are recording faster Internet and download speeds. This is bound to improve even further with the expected commercial launch of TEAMS, the other fibre cable, in which Safaricom has a 22.5 per cent stake and capacity of the same portion, bringing much-needed redundancy and versatility to the service. 

Through www.safaricom.com, the first such portal in Kenya, Safaricom has added a new dimension to the Internet experience in the country, allowing subscribers to access carefully selected, popular content and sites at the click of a button.  

These include audio and video renditions of popular local and international music of all genres, news, movies, games, comedy and sports, among others. 

Surf2Win Reloaded is a sequel to the hugely successful Surf2Win promotion held by Safaricom in December last year. 

Promotion Mechanics:

1. The promotion is open exclusively to Safaricom subscribers with data-enabled phones.

2. Every download is an entry into the draw, a chance to win great prizes. For each piece of content downloaded, a subscriber will get one entry, which is to be confirmed by an SMS notification from 2222.

3. No registration will be required for one to participate in the promotion.

4. Subscribers will access the promotion through www.safaricom.com

5. The content will be available for between Sh5 to Sh199 and will be updated regularly. It will include Music (audio and video) and both Local (Benga, Bongo flava, Genge, Kenyan Pop, Gospel, Taarab, Venacular (Kikuyu, Luo, Luhyia, Kamba) and International (Dance, Gospel, Hip Hop, Bollywood, Kwaito, Pop, R & B, Reggae, Rock, Techno, Zouk); News (News highlights, news satire); Movie Trailers; Comedy and Sports

6. Normal Safaricom data usage fees will apply.