The service applies when making transactions from a Lipa Na M-PESA Business Till to other Till Numbers and PayBill Numbers, when sending money to an individual, and when withdrawing to the nominated number or at an Agent.

Fuliza ya Biashara allows business owners to advance an overdraft of up to KSh. 400,000 with a 24-hour interest-free period.

The service is available through the M-PESA Business App and on the Lipa Na M-PESA Transacting Till on *234#. Business owners can access a minimum overdraft of KSh. 1,000 and can draw multiple overdrafts of up to KSh. 400,000 based on their assigned limit.

The overdraft is automatically repaid from incoming till payments, and the Fuliza ya Biashara limit is reset every time a repayment is made, enabling business owners to immediately access new overdrafts, including the amount they just repaid.

Safaricom launched Lipa Na M-PESA as a way for businesses to conveniently receive cashless payments through their mobile phones.

With more than 538,000 businesses accepting payments through the service, the company’s strategy is now to go beyond collecting payments by providing business owners with tools to manage and grow their businesses.

Fuliza ya Biashara caters to small businesses by providing them with instant, affordable credit of up to KSh. 400,000, empowering them to rapidly respond to their business needs.

KCB Bank Kenya’s Managing Director, Mrs Annastacia Kimtai, said the roll-out of this exciting feature will give Kenyan entrepreneurs the headroom to scale up their business operations without getting into the danger of not servicing some of their critical needs like payments to suppliers.

Safaricom and KCB say that the launch of Fuliza ya Biashara seeks to meet a gap in access to affordable credit, especially among small and micro businesses that have been previously locked out due to their size and perceived risk.

Fuliza ya Biashara is M-PESA’s first credit solution dedicated to businesses and the latest in a string of innovations targeting business owners on the platform.

In 2020, Safaricom introduced the Lipa Na M-PESA Business Till and M-PESA Business App, enabling businesses to make payments from Tills and providing simplified cash flow management through the app.

More than 390,000 businesses have downloaded the M-PESA Business App, and over 50% of business transactions on M-PESA are made through the app.

The post Fuliza ya Biashara: Instant Credit for Business Owners on M-PESA appeared first on Biz Post Daily.

CBK licensed AMKL as a Payment Service Provider (PSP) in line with the National Payment System Act, 2011, on January 21, 2022, and also granted a transition period to complete the transfer.

“The completion of this restructuring enables AMKL to ring-fence its operations and focus exclusively on its mobile money business. Significantly, this sets the foundation for AMKL to enhance governance over its mobile money business, strengthen its operations, and offer better services to its customers,” the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) said in a statement.

Airtel Kenya began the process of separating the two arms of its business in 2019, with Safaricom, the largest telco in the region, expected to do the same with M-PESA following CBK’s years-long push for “customer-centric policies” in the telecommunications industry.

Both AMKL and ANKL are incorporated in Kenya as separate subsidiaries of Airtel Africa Plc which is headquartered in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, has operations in 14 African countries, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The post Airtel Splits Airtel Money from its Telecoms Business appeared first on Biz Post Daily.

“The demand for NSSF services and the need to save for pension has gone beyond formally employed people to entrepreneurs, especially those running medium and small businesses.

It has therefore become necessary to partner with organisations such as Safaricom to extend the reach of our services, including through smartphones on the NSSF M-PESA Mini App,” said Dr. Anthony Omerikwa, Managing Trustee – NSSF.

Customers can access the NSSF Mini-App through the “Discover” option on the M-PESA Super App.

As part of the launch, the first 1,000 NSSF members to make contributions through the NSSF M-PESA Mini App will get an extra 10% free topped up to their account.

“We continue to explore different ways to provide our customers with even more convenience and access to useful services by establishing key partnerships with organisations such as NSSF.

The NSSF Mini App will go a long way in providing customers with an exceptional user experience while providing them with the freedom to access services on their smartphones at any time through the M-PESA Super App,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO – Safaricom.

The NSSF M-PESA Mini App comes on the back of the November 2019 launch of Haba Haba, a savings plan for business people in the jua kali sector.

Haba Haba gives members a chance to save a minimum of Ksh. 25 a day, with the option of withdrawing 50% of their contribution after consistently contributing for a minimum of 5 years.

The M-PESA Super App provides customers with a range of Mini Apps that enables them to conveniently access a variety of products and services from a single app on their smartphones, including SGR booking, airline tickets, bus tickets, shopping gift vouchers, insurance gas delivery, and Pay TV services.

Other key features of the Super App include saving of frequent bills, downloadable M-PESA statements, use of fingerprint and face lock in place of the M-PESA PIN, Send to Many, among others.

More than 5 million customers have downloaded the Super App since its launch.

The post Safaricom Onboards NSSF Services to the M-PESA Mini App appeared first on Biz Post Daily.

In my quick approximation, Urban Radio blew, close to Ksh 800,000 two weeks ago to give two lucky listeners the most epic two days of their life.

From a lavish eviction party for the finalists with free-flowing Johnnie Walker Black to talent fees to the hiring of the top of the range cars to flights from Kisumu to Diani to accommodation and accompanying logistics.

This has so far been billed as the most extravagant radio campaign.

The two winning contestants travelled between three cities, met their idols, sleep in luxury hotels and simply had the most memorable 48 hours of their lives.

The campaign was aptly tagged “experiences money can’t buy.”

Epic 48 is for our listeners. It’s about how much we value our listeners.

Ben Ogombe, CEO Urban Radio 90.7 FM

The campaign usually involves a short nomination period where listeners nominate themselves to have this once-in-a-lifetime experience with their plus one.

During the last season, the station received over two thousand entries.

It then progresses to an elimination stage where the list is thinned on radio through technicalities like following simple instructions.

For instance, presenters called names of the contestants on-air and the contestants were expected to respond by using the campaign hashtag and tagging the station on their social media within five minutes.

If one was not tuned in and missed their name being called on the radio, they will not respond appropriately and thus will be eliminated.

To throw a twist to this, the names are called across three shows during the day and in no particular order – there is no telling where your name will fall as a contestant.

The 10 contestants who follow all the rules to the end make it to the final Epic 48 draw where listeners will then take over by voting for their preferred winner.

The voting happens on social media to enhance transparency. Social media analytics tools are then deployed to not only tally the votes but also weed out those attempting to rig the system through double voting.

In the end, the person with the highest votes and the first runner up gets to experience the most awesome 48 hours of their lives. They are each allowed to bring one person on the trip with them.

                  Season 1 Epic 48 / Video Courtersy of Urban Radio 90.7 FM

The 48 hours countdown begins in Kisumu at the end of an eviction party usually hosted at a club in town or a high-end resort. The last eviction party was hosted by Johnie Walker at Kisumu’s Alleyways Beer Garden.

Participants in the competition must always be ready to pack and leave at a moment’s notice – usually very few hours. The winners are picked up by state of the art luxury cars from their houses and chauffeured to the eviction party where they receive an all-VIP red carpet welcome.

The clock starts counting down to 48 hours when they arrive at the luxury hotel they are staying in for the night. For season one the winners stayed at Ciala Resort in Kisumu, while for Season two they spent the night at the Grand Royal Swiss Hotel.

The idea

Epic 48 is not an Urban Radio original idea per se, and they don’t attempt to claim so. The idea was adapted from syndicated radio show producer, R Dub, of the Sunday Night Slow Jams, which also aired on Urban Radio and other 200 radio stations across the world.

“We were having a chat with Randy Williams (R Dub) on what kind of promotions we can do to make the station stand out, he told us about this campaign they have been running called Epic 48 which was in its third edition then and we thought that would be a great idea to localise,” said Ben Ogombe, CEO Urban Radio during a recent interview with Ominde’s Words.

“Epic 48 is the flagship audience promotion by Urban Radio 90.7 FM. We think of ourselves as an epic station and this is one of the ways we reward our listeners,” adds Ogombe.

The station has three key pillars with the first being “music.” It’s known to play only number one hits – all the songs on the station’s music rotation were at one point number one in the charts.

The second pillar is “the vibe,” the content, the conversation with presenters and the audience engagement.

The third pillar is lifestyle. They think of the station as a way of life. How do you define an urban person, what do urban people do?

“A big part of urban people is travelling, it’s experiencing places, it is having fun. So. Epic 48 falls squarely under that lifestyle pillar for Urban Radio” says Ogombe.

What the station is trying to do with the campaign is make the dreams of their listeners come true. They also want to show their listeners what they can do in 48 hours.

They try to answer the question, how far can you go and what amazing things can you do in 48 hours?

It’s however not only about the places you go to but also the people you meet – look at it, if you had the money and at times we do, you can go to these places. But the campaign gets you to meet your idols as well.

The thinking about the promotion revolves around Magic – blowing you away! Motion, the promotion is about time, everything has to be done within 48 hours – going to all these amazing places and still having enough time to have fun.

Mystery – the surprise element. The contestant doesn’t know where they will be going, what they will be doing, who they will be meeting. Lastly, moments – unforgettable moments. Things you only see on TV.

“The fun part about the campaign is that we put a lot of decoys. The contestants try to guess what happens next and we throw them off their game. In the last edition, we told them to pack swimsuits.

“They guessed we were going to the coast but we got to Nairobi and checked in at the Emara Olesereni. At some point we told them that we were going to pick someone from the airport, unknown to them their luggage had already been secretly checked out of the hotel and they were not going to spend the night at Ole Sereni, ” says Ogombe.

Destination Marketing

The promotion is also about showcasing destinations. If you are in Kisumu and your idea of a weekend is just hanging out at the regular joint, Epic 48 opens your mind to a whole lot of destinations.

Even if you don’t have 600K to blow away in two days but you sure can have a good weekend and be back in time for work on Monday. This includes travelling out of the country.

The station is promising that season 3 of the promotion will be a passport edition. They are also looking forward to partnerships with hotels.

Sponsorship Plugin

The station has partnered with various brands to deliver the Epic 48 promotion to their audiences every three months. The whole process of determining the winner is data-driven from registration on their microsite to shortlisting tasks to voting, to the live broadcast of the EPIC48 journey on its social media platforms to the release of the season’s documentary on our youtube page. This makes them naturally look at Safaricom as a flagship partner.

Johnie Walker is the preferred epic drink, fun times are made better with a bottle of JW Black and their goal here is to have our listeners think of JW Black as the drink for epic excursions and for the flight partner, Safarilink is their preferred wing to the bush and the beach and their invaluable partnership has really helped in making every minute in the 48 hours count.

“The distinct feature with this promotion is that we will have to stick with our partners for all editions. It’s totally disjointed to say today that JW Black is the EPIC48 drink then switch to something else on the next edition.

“Our listeners are following each season and we have to ensure our offering is consistent. We want Safarilink to be able to christen a round trip of say, Kisumu to Diani through Wilson as the EPIC48 trip and our listeners will understand that this is the flight that gets you out of Kisumu at 12.10 on Friday and through Wilson to Diana by 15.30 and returns you to Kisumu on Sunday evening.

“We are also in talks to bring on board a skincare and beauty partner, a phone brand – so the whole experience can be shot using their phone, and a payment platform partner. This is a property that moving forward we will be selling at the beginning of the year and sharing our calendar of events with our partners early enough and they buy it for the whole year,” explained Ogombe.

For the sponsors, this promotion brings to life various aspects of their products through the on-air campaigns. The value they get on air, through the journey and the entire contact points.

For the audience, the second season of Epic 48 will be released in episodes. This will allow the station’s audiences to relive detailed experiences the winning contestants had and whet their appetite for the next edition. This also helps the photographers who had a challenge cutting down gigabytes of footage into just six minutes of film.

The promotion has now also integrated a CSR project where the contestants have an opportunity to give back to a cause of their choice.

The post Epic 48, Kenya’s Most Extravagant Radio Promotion appeared first on Biz Post Daily.

But before we get to talk about those let me walk you through how to set this app on your phone because I realized there is a small detail that you need to know.

You can download the app from your Google Playstore (if you are an iPhone user you know where to get it). Just search for M-Pesa. On the app store, it’s not indicated as “M-Pesa Super App’ – Just “M-PESA.”

Ensure you install the app on the phone that has your Safaricom sim card you want to associate with the app. As you sign in, it will automatically detect your number. It’s also important that you turn off your wifi during this process and temporarily deactivate any other sim you may have on the phone (for those with twin sim phones).

As you sign in you will need to input your M-Pesa pin. The app has the option of capturing your biometrics, as it allows for the use of finger prints and facial recognition for authentication of transactions. In my case I denied it access to my biometrics because I feel like a PIN is a much safer method. Personal choice.

The striking thing about the app that you will notice is that it automatically shows you your M-Pesa balance and fuliza limit at the top of the landing page. When making transactions, you don’t need to be guessing if you have enough money, you will know.

Straight on the landing page too, you will have access to the basic features. Whether it’s sending money, paying a bill, withdrawing cash or buying airtime.

Which brings me to the second striking feature. Request Money. This has been modeled around the “Please Call Me” feature from Safaricom’s voice service. You can actually now request someone to send you money, indicating exactly how much you want them to send you, and with the option of attaching a note to the request. The app can also pick contacts straight from your phone book.

I find the request money feature very useful when stuck or even when someone owes you money and you want to remind them to pay up…or even when you have been sent somewhere to pay for something and whoever sent you did not know the exact price.

Still on the home page, you can see a prominent display of the amount of money you have transacted on M-Pesa for the month. The sliding feature gives you a daily average on the first page as well. On the second, third and fourth page it categorizes your expenditure.

I don’t know if this is standard but currently mine are categorized into family and friends (which is 52% of my transactions), Genera(47%) and Withdrals (1%).

This helps in tracking your spending habits, letting you know where your money goes. But that’s not all, When you click on “MY SPEND” at the bottom of the app you can access specific details about your expenses on each category mentioned above. From that page you can also download your customized statement for any duration in PDF by clicking on the arrow at the top right corner.

Let me take you back to the send and request feature on the landing page for my third striking feature in this app. When you click on that You will see “SEND MONEY”, “REQUEST MONEY”, “GLOBAL”, “ANOTHER NETWORK”, and “SCAN QR”….Global is what I am talking about.

Under global, M-Pesa has integrated transactions with banks, Western Union and Paypall. In this era of global trade, I find linking M-Pesa to Paypal quite futuristic.

If you have a Paypal you can now top it up straight from M-Pesa or even withdraw from Paypal direct to your M-Pesa. So you noloner have to link your Netflix or other payments to your bank, just get Paypal and sort it from M-Pesa. Futuristic I tell you.

In another first the app has integrated third party services. If you click on “DISCOVER”, you will land on a page that allows you to book a bus ticket from major long distance bus companies from BuuPas. You can also book your SGR tickets straight from the app.

You can order for gas and have it delivered to your home by Pro Gas and you can you can select events and pay through MTICKETS. Other services include payments to E-BIMA, MINET, and CPF. You can also buy gift vouchers.

Other notable features include the ability to use this app for transactions even without internet connection (for now this feature is only available on android devices). You will also be able to pay bills by simply scanning QR codes at pay points.

I am still getting to use this app and discovering more of it, but my overall assessment is that a lot of thought went into making this app that addresses the diverse need of today’s financial transactions. M-Pesa is indeed positioned to be the future of money.

The post Review: M-Pesa Positioning Itself as the Future of Money with the Super APP appeared first on Biz Post Daily.

Part of the KES 3.5 million partnership includes the multiple Safari Rally champion mentoring the three young Kenyan drivers selected as part of the FIA Rally Star programme and who Safaricom is also supporting.

“Over the years, I have had the opportunity to gain so much from the sport and as I look forward to an exciting Safari Rally challenge, I’m equally elated to get the chance to pass on some of the knowledge I have gained to three of Kenya’s future rally stars. As far as the rally itself is concerned, I feel ready and so is the car. We’ll give it our best shot and appreciate Safaricom for believing in us and coming on board, said Tundo

The multiple Safari Rally Champion will be driving a Minti MotorsportsVW Polo R5, the same car that saw him clinch the 2021 ARC Equator Rally.

“I am excited and pleased to be associated with Safaricom in supporting the team of Carl and Tim and looking forward to a longer-term relationship. We wish them every success in the WRC event which thankfully has returned to Kenya. Minti Motorsports, although a UK company have their hearts in Kenyan rallying and especially in developing young talent in Kenyan Motorsports and it is our dream to have a World Champion one day from Kenya”, said Joey Ghose, Minti Motorsports director and owner.

Tundo is a five times winner of the Safari Rally and in 2009 was crowned Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) champion making him the first and only Kenyan winner of an IRC round.

“The fact that Carl Tundo is one of the few Kenyan drivers who took part in the last WRC Safari Rally speaks to how experienced and consistent he is. We are proud to be sponsoring one of Kenya’s best rally drivers as well as three of the most promising ones. We are certain that the FIA Rally Star programme youngsters will grab every opportunity to be mentored by the veteran racer”, Said Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom.

Safaricom’s partnership with Tundo brings their investment in the WRC Safari Rally to KES 21 million. Earlier this week, the Telco announced a KES 17.5 million sponsorship for the rally as it makes its return to the WRC calendar for the first time in close to two decades.

The sponsorship included KES 15 million which will go towards supporting three young Kenyan drivers selected as part of the FIA Rally Star programme. This is a global initiative aimed at identifying, training and developing talented young drivers between 17-26 years.

The three Kenyan drivers who have been selected for the FIA Rally star programme are Jeremy Wahome, Hamza Anwar and McRae Mutwiri Kimathi.

The post Safaricom Announces WRC Sponsorship for Carl ‘Flash’ Tundo appeared first on Biz Post Daily.

The launch will be done in Kisumu and Nairobi partnership with leading global suppliers; the Nokia Corporation and Huawei. The launch will see the telco showcase capabilities of the 5G network using the two firms’ technologies.

The 5G service will be available in Nairobi and Western Kenya towns including Kisumu, Kisii and Bungoma. Subscribers who want to enjoy the service will need to acquire 5G enabled handsets.

5G networks promise to offer faster connectivity compared to the current 4G network. This means much faster data download and upload speeds that ultimately ease network congestion.

The technology is meant to deliver higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds, ultra-low latency, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and a more uniform user experience to more users. Higher performance and improved efficiency empower new user experiences and connect new industries.

This is specifically good news in this era of the pandemic when a lot more people are working from home. Subscribers without access to broadband internet will be able to get fast internet that will allow them to work remotely more efficiently, especially when using video platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype and so much more.

This rollout will also be beneficial to those who use the internet for entertainment services like streaming video content on platforms like Netflix or YouTube and online gamers.

It would be a good idea for Safaricom to go a step further and introduce a bundled 5G package that offers monthly data at rates lower that what’s currently charged for mobile data to increase uptake, especially for those who are outside designated Home Fibre zones.

The post Safaricom to roll out East Africa’s first 5G Network Tomorrow appeared first on Biz Post Daily.

Ademasajida Health Centre received a full haemogram machine for blood testing and analysis as well as antenatal care equipment worth KES 1.2 million while Mathalibah Dispensary had monitoring equipment worth KES 500,000 donated through the Ndoto Zetu initiative.

Dif Old Dam, Busbus and LMD Primary Schools each received a classroom worth KES 1 million to ease congestion and eliminate learning under trees among pupils. Sarif Primary School pupils got books worth KES 100, 000 from the Ndoto Zetu initiative enabling access to learning materials while Ademasajida Secondary School benefitted from a renovated and equipped science laboratory worth KES 1 million.

“Safaricom Foundation has a footprint in all the 47 counties; here in Wajir County, we saw the need to partner with communities to enable access to education and healthcare. Improving these services will go a long way in bridging gaps these communities have to overcome in their every day, “said Joe Ogutu, Chairman, Safaricom Foundation.

The post Safaricom Foundation Invests Sh 5.3 Million Towards Improving Education and Healthcare in Wajir appeared first on Biz Post Daily.

The campaign will see Safaricom customers enjoy more internet for less on Kenya’s best network. Both Prepay and PostPay customers can access their personalised data bundles on *544# under the option “0” – Special Data Deals. Upon purchase of the bundle, which is available every day until 23rd May 2021, customers will instantly receive a bonus of 500MB data valid until midnight of the same day.

“Safaricom exists to transform lives. By expanding our network coverage, giving our customers more data for less and availing affordable 4G devices, we seek to empower more Kenyans to tap into the opportunities that come with internet access,” said Peter Ndegwa, Chief Executive Officer, Safaricom.

Growing demand for data has seen Safaricom partner with Google to enable its customers to acquire quality 4G devices via flexible payment plans. Currently, the Neon Ray Pro, which is bundled with free WhatsApp for 3 months, is available at all Safaricom shops, Masoko.com and dealer outlets at a discounted price of KES 3,999/- while stocks last. Customers can also acquire the device by making a deposit of KES 500 and paying KES 20 daily for the balance.

Last month, Safaricom was ranked by umlaut as having the best network for data and calls across the country for the fourth year in a row. The mobile operator has been aggressively expanding its 4G coverage with a goal of having 100% of its network on 4G. In 2020, Safaricom rolled out more than 1,600 new sites, bringing its 4G reach to more than 92 per cent of the country’s population.

The post Safaricom’s ‘Browse Bila Waas’ Campaign to See Customers Enjoy 500 MB Daily Bonus Data appeared first on Biz Post Daily.

The solution will aid HELB to promote responsible spending with the funds locked for specific allocations, such as tuition or library fees only accessible to the specific Paybill account of the recipient’s University or TVET institution. The students upkeep allowance can now also be transferred into the student’s M-PESA wallet for everyday use.

“Technology today is not only revolutionizing every aspect of our lives but also creating opportunities to enhance efficiency and accountability. We are pleased to support the Higher Education Loans Board to deploy a solution that suits the digital lifestyle of students in tertiary institutions,” said Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, Chief Financial Services Officer, Safaricom.

Students can access the system through HELB USSD and the mobile app once completed from where they will view their loan allocations, current balances, statements and make payments.

HELB disburses over KSh 15 billion to over 200,000 beneficiaries annually. Part of the loan is usually channelled directly to the learning institution to settle part of the tuition and accommodation fees while the rest is sent to the student for upkeep.

The solution will create efficiencies for all stakeholders by reducing queues during registration as students can now pay through their mobile phones. There will be effective management and monitoring of all loans throughout the loan lifecycle.

“The rollout of this smart solution marks a major milestone in our digitisation journey. It not only enhances efficiency in our operations but also enables us to step up the experience of beneficiaries, who are digital natives. The solution will allow the student to access and make transactions within the solution’s ecosystem,” said Charles Ringera, HELB’s Chief Executive Officer.

The platform grants HELB visibility of funds from various sources, which it can aggregate, reconcile real-time and report to its financiers. Continuing students can receive notifications and utilise a financial planning tool on the portal; while those who have graduated can track their repayments and generate statements.

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