Safaricom has today announced that it has passed the 30 millionth customer milestone, cementing the firm’s position as the most preferred mobile service provider in the country.

With this new milestone Safaricom has consolidated its lion’s share in the Kenyan telecoms market beating competitors Airtel and Telekom which recently announced a merger to break its monopoly.

Key to Safaricom’s growth is its mobile money payments and remittance service M-PESA which was unveiled in 2007 and serves over 21 million active customers and over 162,800 M-PESA Agent outlets countrywide. Safaricom also has a mobile lending and savings product dubbed M-Shwari which allows its customers to save and borrow cash on the go. Recently, Safaricom launched Fuliza, an overdraft facility to allow its customers pay for bills or send money uninterrupted even when their own M-PESA wallets run out. Fuliza loaned out Ksh6.2 billion in one month.

According to a report by Communications Authority, Kenya had around 46.6 million active mobile subscriptions as at December 2018 and in terms of market share, Safaricom PLC had a 64.2 per cent whereas Airtel Networks Limited stood at 22.3 percent. Telkom Kenya Limited, Finserve Africa Limited and Mobile Pay Limited recorded market shares stood at 9.0 , 4.2 and 0.2 per cent respectively.

To celebrate the milestone, Safaricom is thanking its customers for their loyalty through compelling Bonga Points offers beginning Friday 22^nd March, 2019.

“We would like to thank each of our more than 30 million customers for choosing Safaricom as their preferred network which has contributed to our achievement of this remarkable and historic milestone. This breakthrough reflects our customer’s vote of confidence in our purpose of Transforming Lives. Last year as we turned 18, we announced our brand promise of ‘Nawe Kila Wakati’, where we renewed our commitment to always deliver great value on our network,” said Sylvia Mulinge, Chief Customer Officer – Safaricom. 

Between Friday and Sunday, all Safaricom customers will have the option to redeem 1 Bonga Point for KES 1 worth of airtime to a limit of KES 100 airtime, or 1 Megabyte of data valid 7 days to a limit of 1 GB, enjoying a 67% discount. Customers can redeem the offers as many times as they wish for the three days by dialing *444*3#.

Safaricom will also extend the 1 to 1 offer to the Neon Kicka 4, which will be available for 3,499 points. Customers with fewer points can top up the difference in cash at KES 1 for 1 point. The device will be available at all Safaricom shops and all dealer outlets countrywide while stocks last. 

In October 2018, Safaricom marked its 18th anniversary since the company was founded in 2000.

Over the last 18 years, Safaricom customers have enjoyed a variety of transformative products and services.

Safaricom has also spent more than KES 100 billion in the last three years ensuring more than half of Kenya’s population has access to high-speed mobile connectivity through 4G while 3G and 2G networks reach more than 91 per cent and 96 per cent of the population respectively.

Besides its products and network, Safaricom has also placed a lot of focus in being close to its customers through initiatives such as ‘Ndoto Zetu’.

“We continue to appreciate our customers through the ‘Ndoto Zetu’ initiative, where we are coming together to make a difference to their communities, inspired by their dreams. Our objective is to make a positive change across more than 500 communities,” said Sylvia.

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