Safaricom has partnered with Google to sell over one million affordable phones through credit, where customers will pay Ksh20 per day.
The initiative dubbed Lipa Mdogo Mdogo will give customers still using feature phones an opportunity to own a 4G- enabled device, Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said.
“Cost of devices should no longer be an impediment. We are launching an innovative device financing plan dubbed dubbed Lipa Mdogo Mdogo that will give customers still using feature phones an opportunity to own a 4G- enabled device by paying only Ksh20 a day,” said Ndegwa.
The offer will be available for all phones, but the daily pay could go up depending on the value of the phone.
This comes as Safaricom seeks to grow its revenue for data, which has been on the upward trend as compared to voice calls revenue.
“Democratising data implies facilitating its universal access. It requires continually working towards bridging the digital divide. Mama Mbogas are also using 4G enabled devices to send photos and videos of their produce to customers, taking orders online and delivering using boda-boda riders,” added Ndegwa in an opinion published on a local Daily.
Read: Demand For Safaricom Home Data Up 70PC As Kenyans Adapt To Stay-at-home Directive
In April, Safaricom announced that mobile data consumption had gone up by 35 percent as Kenyans adapt to work from home in adherence to Covid-19 guidelines. The demand for Safaricom Home data also spiked by 70 percent.
“It is an innovative way of allowing customers to get a device that they would otherwise not be able to afford. If you have an app, you can’t use it on a 2G phone,” added Ndegwa.
The rise in demand has been associated to demand on online entertainment platform like Netflix, whose traffic has grown fourfold, from 15Gbps to 60 Gbps as of April.
Safaricom estimates that it has laid 6,700 kilometeres of fiber reaching more than 300,000 homes. It has at least 5,300 base stations across the country delivering 3G and 4G mobile network to 87 percent of the population while the rest are on 2G.
The telco says it has invested more than Ksh300 billion in infrastructure over the last 10 years.
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