Safaricom Marks 25 Years of Service with “Shangwe at 25” Celebrations in Eldoret and Nakuru
She noted that the county is working on expanding internet connectivity and creating hotspots to enable the youth to embrace online business opportunities.
The “Shangwe at 25” campaign features several activities across the country, including customer rewards and community engagements.Photo/Achieng Kemuma.
By Brenda Muriithi
The event, held in Eldoret, was also simultaneously launched in Nakuru, marking the beginning of a nationwide campaign to honour customers and communities that have supported Safaricom over the years. Representatives of Safaricom said that the company had postponed its celebration early in October following the death of the retired Prime Minister Raila Odinga, joining the rest of the nation in mourning.
They said that the company was now celebrating a major milestone-25 years of connecting Kenyans, 50 million customers countrywide and 35 million users on M-Pesa. The celebration was not just about Safaricom, but about the customers. “Today we are not celebrating Safaricom; we are celebrating our customers, the citizens who have trusted us for 25 years,” said one of the company officials. The “Shangwe at 25” campaign features several activities across the country, including customer rewards and community engagements.
The company will be visiting markets and towns across the Rift Valley and other regions with the iconic green box giving customers a chance to win prizes such as cows, goats, shopping vouchers, and cash rewards. Customers will also be able to win daily, weekly, and monthly prizes by participating in Safaricom’s network activities such as buying data or voice bundles and using M-Pesa services.
Daily winners will receive 10 shillings or 250MB of data while others could win up to Ksh 1 million. Winners of the grand prize will also get a chance to give back to their community through a Ksh 250,000 community investment. For business owners and M-Pesa agents, Safaricom announced special rewards including stock worth Ksh 100,000 to 250,000 and Bajajis to support entrepreneurs. Uasin gishu County was represented by Martha Cheruto, the County Executive Committee Member for Trade, Industrialisation, Tourism, Corporate and Enterprise Development. Safaricom, she said, has contributed to economic growth and technological advancement. “As a county, we are proud of Safaricom’s 25-year journey. The company has shown that corporates can evolve and drive technology and business development across the country,” she said.
Cheruto highlighted the great partnership existing between the Safaricom and County Government on matters such as digitization of cooperative societies, farmers’ financial training, and cashless transactions in the transport and agricultural sectors. She noted that the county is working on expanding internet connectivity and creating hotspots to enable the youth to embrace online business opportunities. “Safaricom is still young at 25, and our youth can learn from its innovation to create wealth using technology,” she added. She also commended Safaricom for promoting a saving culture through digital financial services and for supporting the county in corporate social responsibility programs like disaster response and community development.
The County Government reiterated its commitment to continuing collaboration with Safaricom to drive digital transformation and economic empowerment.
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