19 July, 2008

The Paypal Campaign

Some time back i did a post on Paypal here at Siku-moja, by so doing i expressly stated that i was beginning a campaign to ensure that Africa is given an opportunity to utilize all the facets and services available at paypal because we are loosing out in our e-commerce due to being sidelined by Paypal !That campaign has been given favorable response and highlighted in various forums, i therefore will hereby provide a link to the various discussions and websites that this matter has caught attention:

  1. First link is at http://www.blogrunner.com/snapshot/t/news/international/countriesandterritories/kenya/
  2. David adjao highlights the Paypal plight at http://www.davidajao.com/blog/2007/09/29/why-paypal-features-in-africa-are-limited/
  3. PSD World Bank Group also chose to highlight my post at :http://psdblog.worldbank.org/psdblog/2008/07/paypal-not-in-1.html
  4. Squidoo highlighted the post at https://www.squidoo.com/paypalweb
  5. Global Voices Online also caught the que and highlighted the post at http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/06/19/africa-is-paypal-effective-in-africa/

And how did paypal respond(this may be of interest to Erik of White African blog):

"I work for PayPal and wanted to let you know where we are in expanding our services more widely around the world. PayPal's intent is to expand our services globally wherever there is demand for our product -- whether that's Africa or anywhere around the world. Because PayPal has to comply with local regulations and integrate with the local financial infrastructure, these things take time. We are watching this market closely and will let you know when we roll out more advanced services. Thanks for your interest in PayPal.

Sara Gorman
PayPal Inc."

Yes, this was a campaign that was worth undertaking and i hope Paypal will hasten their initiative to tap into this emerging markets!the sooner the better.Once again this highlights the power of citizen media- the posts on this blog are not just for entertainment purpose but to improve the African experience online, and you will agree that together we are doing good !My blogging experience highlights the fact that one has to consistently keep up on what they believe in if they intend to achieve any good!I hope Africa will benefit from Paypal activities to the fullest extent in the near future!

(some good news just got the CNBC interview DVD , will upload it soon, though i hate how i looked-must have been the lighting!)


7 comments:

  1. It's about time they came to Africa. There's a lot of cash for them to make here. It's encouraging to see that at least they're aware of just how much we need them here.

    I tried to do a post on Agriculture and farming. Please check it out.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's about time they came to Africa. There's a lot of cash for them to make here. It's encouraging to see that at least they're aware of just how much we need them here.

    I tried to do a post on Agriculture and farming. Please check it out.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hope that PayPal will get into full flow in Africa... So that every one will make use of that in a better way....

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Collins,

    Paypal's stock answer is no longer convincing. It actually reeks of deeply entrenched prejudices against the African folks in particular. Why would Alertpay be able to "comply with local regulations and integrate..." and not them? What are "these things" for which they want to "take more time"?

    Perhaps it is the partners who prefer to work through Paypal that we should continue to lobby and request for acceptance of alternative payment solutions. In collaboration with the alternative providers that operate in our regions, we might just be able to work around this Paypal 'almightiness'. I don't know why we should continue pleading with a business to see opportunity.

    Our software developers also need to shape up. I suspect that James Mwangi of Equity Bank is waiting to pounce on one such entrepreneur. I don't even imagine there is any code to invent in that regard. Its a matter of customizing and backing it up with Equity muscle.

    I wonder whether "these things" were pointed out to Bitange Ndemo at the recent BarCamp. We need to remind him too.

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  5. hlumiti is point on with his suggestions, unfortunately paypal is the e-commerce medium of choice out there!before a rival establishes itself effectively, Africa will have lost on many opportunities!

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  6. Well, your prayers have finally be answered (if you believe in that sort of thing) because Kenyans can send/receive money using Kenyan PP accounts and verified by local Debit cards. No local withdrawals yet but its a step in the right direction.

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  7. @James to send and receive money to a US bank account is still out of reach for most Kenyans , it an improvement but still out of reach!Status quo is maintained!

    ReplyDelete

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