SAFARICOM LAUNCHES APP FOR COW FARMERS

June 25, 2013... Leading integrated communications service provider Safaricom has in partnership with Green Dreams Limited officially launched iCow, an SMS based mobile application aimed at promoting smart dairy farming.

By subscribing to the short code, *285#, Kenya's 5 million dairy farmers can now access tips on better farming methods which will help them improve their dairy output and subsequently, their revenues for Kshs. 3 per message.

"iCow survey data shows farmers who have been on iCow for 7 months begin to realize an increase of milk of between 2-3 litres per animal per day. This is an increase of about 610-930 litres a year which translates into an average increased income of 25-30k per animal per year. iCow data shows farmers have reduced cow and calf mortality thus enabling farmers grow their greatest asset base," Su Kahumbu, Green Dreams Limited.

iCow, has three main features namely: Kalenda, Mashauri and Vet. Kalenda offers farmers nutritional and vaccination tips for their cows during the gestational period up to and birth.  Mashauri on the other hand is a service that sends farmers three SMS tips every week on dairy farming while the Vet and Artificial Insemination service links farmers with professional veterinarians within their respective geographical areas on demand.

"iCow is an easy to use, affordable and convenient mobile phone application which will empower Kenya's dairy farmers with global best practices. iCow is a clear demonstration of how technology is positively impacting key spheres of our economy," said Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore who spoke as he launched the service during this year's Brookside Breeders' Show.

Speaking during the launch, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Felix Koskei commended Safaricom for the innovative approach towards addressing farmers concerns.
He said, "ICT has over the years given the Agriculture Sector a wide berth. As a result farmers' yields have been on the decline and this has gradually seen the country lose its competitive edge to other countries."
"As a government, we believe that Kenya has the potential to provide agricultural produce to meet the country's need and even have enough for exports. We will therefore be looking for other innovators who will provide solutions to boost efficiency in our crop and animal rearing management, to help achieve this objective", he noted.

Western Union Partners With M-Pesa In Enabling Local Mobile Money Receipts

It is now possible to receive funds sent from abroad through Western Union Money Transfer services via the M-pesa Platform ! This comes as particularly good news to Kenyans both in the diaspora and locally who have been seeking an efficient and seamless service when it comes to money transfer.

On 16 July 2012 the global payments service provider announced  a promotion set to run till 7 September 2012 with intent to popularize the service especially among Kenyans in America. Customers who tell at least three friends and family members through a qualifying referral about the Western Union^® Mobile Money Transfer service from the U.S. to Kenya will receive a coupon for a $0-fee* transaction. To qualify for the coupon, U.S. customers must “tell a friend” through www.westernunion.com/mpesa using e-mail, Facebook or Twitter.

The new service enables consumers to be able to send money to Mpesa subscribers from nearly 170,000Western Union Agents located in 91 Countries and Territories including the USA.According to the press release from the Company:

 The service operates on Western Union’s worldwide network and trusted global “hub” for processing cross-border remittances. It also builds on the unprecedented success of M-PESA, a mobile money transfer service in Kenya offered by Safaricom that has attracted nearly 15 million customers since its launch in 2007. Funds are delivered directly to M-PESA subscribers and are usually available in minutes.

This facility is a ready welcome and enabler for e-commerce within the region.It is expected that the service will prove very popular among Kenyans.According to a recent Central Bank of Kenya report Kenyans in the Diaspora remitted back home a whooping US $891,107,000 in 2011.This is a lot of foreign exchange and definitely indicates that both Safaricom and Western Union are targeting an already existing and lucrative market.For Kenyans the "Mobile Wallet"service will certainly ease transactions and  enhance money transfer services and usage.

Nokia's Alexander Oswald -TEDx 2011 Talk on Kenya's Mobile Solutions

The Kenyan Mobile Payment platform M-Pesa  and its derivative mobile payment solutions are educating the Worlds leading technology enthusiasts and service providers on just what the future and payment systems should be.This is according to  Tech Guru and Marketer Alexander Oswald in a speech entitled "Why Kenyans Do It Better " given at TED x Vienna held in Austria on 22 October, 2011.

I have taken the liberty to embed the video in this post ,it highlights how our common everyday transactions and solutions derived from and made possible through the mobile payment solution MPESA are shaping the future of technology both in so called "developed"  and "developing" countries.Enjoy!

Mobile Number Portability in Kenya:How To ?

Kenyans can now switch from mobile phone service providers such as Safaricom, Airtel and Yu and still retain their mobile phone numbers .The day has been long in the waiting and its finally here!Why lie its not everyday that i get inclined to read a press release word for word before i publish it but this press release from Communications Commission of Kenya i just had to read before i publish.Real glad tidings!My survey question for the day;Of the main Service Providers who will bear the most casualty? Your Take.....

MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY (MNP) NOW A REALITY !

Nairobi, Friday 1^st April 2011: Mobile phone subscribers in Kenya will from today retain their mobile subscriber numbers whenever they opt to change service providers following the roll out of Mobile Number Portability services by the four mobile operators in line with regulatory requirements.

Kenya joins 62 other countries around the world where number portability has been implemented, including Egypt, and South Africa. 

“The implementation of number portability is expected to deepen the level of competition in the mobile telecommunications market and enhance consumer choice”, says Communications Commission of Kenya Director-General Mr. Charles Njoroge. .

One of major factors that have been discouraging consumers and business firms from changing mobile service providers is the inconveniences of losing contacts with friends, family and business associates. For businesses, change of telephone numbers could have cost implications in regard to advertising.

 These inconveniences have inhibited consumers from taking advantage of the growing competition in the telecommunications market. 

Mr. Njoroge says introduction of number portability will result in improvement in the quality of service as mobile operators fight it out to retain and attract subscribers in their network. 

“In the new dispensation, service providers who do not pay attention to quality and good customer service may find it hard to survive,” the Director-General added. 

The introduction of Mobile Number Portability follows extensive public consultations carried out between 2004 and 2008 which showed that the market was ready for the service.   Given the insights collected during the public consultation exercise, Mobile Number Portability is expected to gain significant acceptability in the market, given the one-time fee per port and relatively short port duration are considered competitive, and unlikely to hinder the uptake of the service.

Mobile number portability was initially meant to kick off last December but was deferred to allow mobile service providers more time to acquire and test their equipment. All mobile service providers signed an agreement with Porting Access Kenya committing to roll out the service as from today.  

“The operators have carried out the necessary tests and we expect the services to kick off without major hitches.  There might be some few teething problems at the beginning but this should be sorted out within the shortest time possible,” says CCK Director-General. 

How to port

All subscribers wishing to port their numbers will be expected to fill in the Mobile Number Portability Form at the retail shop of the mobile operator they intend to switch to and present original identification documents (e.g. I.D. card, Passport or Armed forces I.D. card) for verification. For company lines, an official letter from the organization, duly signed by the relevant authority, will be required. 

Subscribers will also pay a porting fee of Kshs. 200 and will be issued with a new SIM card and will continue to use the services of their current operator until the automated porting process is complete. 

Before the automatic switching process starts, subscribers are expected to save their SIM contacts on their phone or any other form, clear any balance airtime and money in mobile transfer account as well as pay up any borrowed airtime or outstanding bill.

To start the automated porting process subscribers will need to send the word PORT or HAMA to 1501 using their existing SIM card.  The subscriber will then receive an SMS from PORTING bearing either of the following information: Thank you for your SMS. Your porting request is being processed (Asante kwa SMS yako. Ombi lako la kuhama linashughulikiwa); OR your porting request has failed. Please contact your new Operator(Ombi lako la kuhama halijafaulu. Tafadhali wasiliana na Opereta wako mpya).

When the automated switching process is complete, one will receive, within a few minutes (but not longer than 48 hours), an SMS from PORTING bearing either of the following information:  This Account will be closed soon. Please use your SIM card from your new Operator. (Akaunti hii itafungwa karibuni tafadhali tumia SIM CARD yako mpya kutoka kwa Opereta wako mpya) OR Porting Error.  Please contact your new Operator (Kuna shida na ombi lako la kuhama. Tafadhali wasiliana na Opereta wako mpya)..  

The subscriber will then replace their current SIM card with the new SIM Card from the new operator and begin enjoying the services of the new mobile service provider.

Safaricom New Advert "Niko Na Safaricom"

Many Kenyans are finding the new Safaricom  television advert impressive. It goes without mention that the filming of the advert must have cost the leading mobile telecommunication industry player quite some money.The  costly advert features   the majestic hills at  Suguta Valley south of Lake Turkana , the Longonot Crater  among other mountains and scenic locations of Kenya with a Safaricom choir singing an emotive and captivating themed song "Niko Na Safaricom " sang by a live choir .(See YouTube Video Below)



The remarkable cinematography behind the advert has raised eyebrows and upped the game a notch higher in the marketing ,advertisement and filmography industry in Kenya.Especially coming hot on the heels of a massive marketing campaign and price war mounted by newly acquired Bharti Airtels " Zain" mobile phone operator. With over 16 Million Subscribers Safaricom aims to retain its leading market share and evoke loyalty from its consumers.Thus the loyalty inducing theme"Niko Na Safaricom. Question is will the marketing campaign prove successful without substantive changes in the pricing structure and quality of services ?(the network often proves to be clogged during peak hours especially during Friday afternoons).


The  appeal of the advert was the gist of a discussion in a popular radio show this morning with much accolades being given to it.However in the online socialsphere the conversation is slightly different from accolades such as seen in the blogpost by TechMtaa   to Facebook conversations as to whether the advert was an original concept or in "kind words" a borrowing of  OR rather a remake of the Qantas :Spirit of Australia Advert (YouTube Video below):



I found this to be quite interesting .Seems Kenyans are so well informed nowadays,again this illustrates why the Big Brands ought to  monitor the social-sphere  for meaningful conversations developing around their brands .But without much ado , the advert perhaps is one of the finest and captivating Kenya has seen in the recent past.

Zain Shakes Kenyan Mobilephone Market With New Tariff Rates !

"It takes a courageous person to effect great change"- Zain Kenya has just proved to be that person in their recent  call rate price cuts.In a media briefing at the Hotel Inter-Continental  yesterday, the Managing Director of Zain Kenya Mr Rene Meza  yesterday announced that both pre pay and postpaid Zain Kenya mobile subscribers would be able to call across all networks at a flat rate of Kenya Shillings 3/= per minute and send Short Messages(SMS)at Kshs 1/=.

The bold move has resulted in many Kenyans switching on to Zain from Safaricom which has been the dominant mobile phone operator with the most subscriber base.The move is a harbinger of serious competition for the big players  in the African Telecommunication industry from Indian telecoms giant Bharti Airtel’s following its takeover of Zain’s Africa business two months ago.


The recent SIM registration exercise being conducted by the Communications Commission of Kenya seems to indicate that Safaricom has over 12 million 'active' subscriber base.However the mobile phone operator needs to be responsive to its consumers if it intends to remain relevant both in the mobile phone and data market.Consumers just like politicians have no permanent friends or enemies, service delivery and costs count more than brand loyalty.The price wars are welcome since the beneficiary is the end user !

"Nokia Money"- Safaricom Mpesa Here Comes The Big Boys !

Nokia has launched a mobile phone payment/money transfer service in India that closely resembles the Safaricom M-Pesa service model that was first rolled out in Kenya by the Vodafone affiliate in 2007.

The M- Pesa concept(see wikipedia stub) made it possible for people to transact business without the need to visit a Bank premise or to make actual physical payment of money.In essence M-Pesa is branch less banking service.The Nokia Money scheme is a replication of the M-Pesa money transfer model and seems to be offering no added value.The service will be first rolled out in India and thereafter on a Country by Country basis.

Nokia money will allow subscribers to transfer money, pay  merchants for goods and services,pay utility bills ,carry out online transactions and even top up their phone credit.Without doubt Nokia has the financial muscle and it is quite telling why the service was rolled out in India first as opposed to Africa where mobile money transfer schemes are readily catching up like wild fire. Indeed Safaricom the big boys are coming your way so it is time that the service was made more affordable both for the sender and recipient of the money transfer and of course more innovative. 

The Nokia group hopes that the new service will help extend its profitability beyond device sales. Indeed, the company is targeting  to have 300 million active users of its services by the end of 2011.Nokia money is aimed to work on any device, not just Nokia phones and will feature joint partnerships or collaboration with local banks.Of course here at A Nairobians Perspective we are eager to see how all this rolls out and of course experience the benefits of competition in the service industry.

Safaricom Live Mobile Download Service Launched !

The 3G enabled information access,download and information exchange portal Safaricom Live is now operational !According to the Safaricom live website the service is "a content download platform for digital media such as applications and games, ring tones, music and video clips, wallpapers, images and text (news, sports updates,jokes and so much more.)."

The service requires users to register using their Safaricom phone numbers whereupon they will be able to access myriads of products including downloading music at 3G speeds wherever they may be in Kenya .While indeed the service is not a first within the region the thing is that with its muscle power , more and more people will be able to make efficient use of their Internet enabled phones at a considerable cost! I am not saying affordable as Internet costs in Kenya are still way up for the common ordinary citizen( mwananchi) to make meaningful use. For now im yet to find out the access cost for the service but will keep you updated!I can see from the portal that access may be charged on downloading on per item basis -for now they have clips of Tahidi High a popular Kenyan television program aired on Citizen Tv at Kenya Shillings 10 per clip .The cost seems reasonable but that more or less depends on the length of the clip.However as a technology enthusiast i welcome the Safaricom Live service!

M-Pesa Account Payments & Statements

Ever since the innovative M-Pesa mobile phone money transfer service was introduced by Safaricom, i believe that i have sent thousands of shillings through the service that were i to get a statement tha would be sufficient proof of my liquidity and ability to service any loan. Its only recently that i realized that my bank statements are suffering since i normally cash my salary cheque and deposit the amount into my M-pesa account ! The paramount disadvantage with this is that at the moment i dont think its possible to get a written statement of how one has transacted over a period of time !Atleast Safaricom has not notified us of such a service if indeed it exists.The thing is, Banks/financial instiutions etc may not be able to capture the credit worthiness of an individual if they fail to take into consideration that many people now opt to use M-Pesa as compared to traditional banking.

I believe im not the only person with such a predicament and i believe Safaricom should now look into this.It is estimated that close to 5 million Safaricom users have subscribed to this service! Thass a whole lot of money being moved around! Issuing subscribers with statements (at a fee and on request of course!) can be an added value service and also enable them to rake in more income and enable subcribers trace, clarify and monitor their M-pesa accounts!

There are innumerable opportunities for the Safaricom M-Pesa service to morph and capitalize on! It may be possible for Banks to even charge or collect outstanding loan accounts through this service!I hope the strategic advisors of Safaricom will consider this!

CallingAmerica.com Free USA Calls !

Zains New Vuka Tariff !

Zain Kenya yesterday launched a new product VUKA tariff plan that will see their subscribers pay Kenya Shillings 8/- per minute on per second billing accross all networks!!!SMS cost is Kenya Shillings 3 bob per SMS accross all networks. That is the cheapest tariff charges being offered in Kenya among the major networks i.e Safaricom, Orange and Econet !Zain has taken a bruising battle to Safaricom and unlike previous practice Safaricom slumbers and continues to take the fatal blows to the dismay of its subscribers!

Safaricom IPO:
I believe that my opinion article on Safaricom Slumber is now starting to bear its truth.With the new Vuka Tariff much awaits to be seen as to how Safaricom's marketing department will counter this threat.My motto is "NEVER LOOSE A CUSTOMER".I hope Safaricom has a similar mindset.The Safaricom IPO marked the begining towards the declination of vodafone's affiliate company - Safaricom's dominance of the Kenyan mobile market! The Mobitelea Shares controversy didnt even make the matter better.I pity Safaricom shareholders as their shares continue to decline!


The Vuka Tariff Ripple:
For Zain Subscribers to change subscription to the New Vuka tariff all they need to do is dial *123*8# if on pre -paid tariff or dial *128*8# if on postpaid tariff.Vuka is value for money.Thanks Zain!Safaricom sleep still and sleep some more remember Orange and Zain are now here and with unlocked dual SIM phones around watch your subscriber base erode !

Safaricom Slumber -Sirens Blazing !

After the April 2008 IPO... nothing much in terms of competitiveness, new products ,services or image branding seems to be coming out of Safaricom whilst the competition is getting stiff! I bet i am not the only subscriber who is getting worried about this most profitable mobile telephone services company in Sub Saharan company and we have good reason to be worried.Consider the following :-

• November 2007 -France Telkom buys 51% percent Telkom Kenya Shares from the Government
• September 2008 Telkom South Africa and Telkom Kenya set up Orange Mobile Services(website link) and Orange Broadband .The new service targets to reach at least 50% of the population.The initial roll out intends to add 1 million subscribers per year calls between Orange mobile, Orange fixed wireless and Telkom Fixed will cost KES 7 per minute, while calls to the other mobile service providers will cost KES 14 per minute – significantly less than both the other mobile operators. SMS from Orange mobiles will cost KES 3.5 to any mobile phone service.Safaricom currently boasts over 8 Million subscribers but this is bound to change as it looses more subscribers to the new players in the industry mostly due to their high call cost charges!
  
• June 2008 Celtel changes to Zain and introduces tariff plans that see all prepaid subscribers paying KES 3 per minute on off peak hours(6 p.m to 6 a.m and on weekends) and the Marketing buzz around classic 105 Zain Man who dishes out money to members of the public should definately send the marketing and advertising department at Safricom bck to its drawing board.
• Zain and Telkom's Orange have undertaken massive bill board advertisements ,wall branding,road shows etc their presence is definately being felt in the market....Safaricom still slumbers...there's nothing new from them!
  
• September 2008 Econet wireless Kenya Limited begins its roll out program as the Third Licensed cellular phone services provider.Econet Wireless Kenya holds 70 per cent of the company, Starnet Limited owns 26 per cent, Corporate Africa two per cent and Crosslink two per cent.Earlier on in the year Econet Kenya Wireless Ltd, sold 49 per cent of its share to an India telecommunication company Essar.Econet Wireless boasts of following notable milestones :

• Has More than 11 million subscribers in five networks
• Group employs staff from over 20 nationalities
• Recorded Africa’s rollout of a network by launching a mobile network in Botswana in March 1998 six weeks from awarding of a GMS mobile license
• Entered Zimbabwean market two years after two incumbent competitors, assuming market leadership within three months and listing the company in the same period
• Achieved market leadership of 57% in Nigeria during first year of operation after launching Econet Wireless Nigeria in August 2001
• Econet was the first mobile cellular company in the world to introduce a mobile news service of the BBC World News and South African Broadcasting Corporation news
• First mobile operator in Africa to introduce CNN news on cellular phone handsets
• First operator to introduce a duo-numbered SIM card which was launched in Zimbabwe in 1998
• First operator from an emerging market to own a 3-G licence in an OECD country in New Zealand
• First African telecoms company to build an international satellite hub in the UK

Most of Safaricom subscribers then need to critically look at the future of the company ...worse is the fact that last week Safaricom shares traded at less than 5 Kenyan shillings (KES 4.60-4.90)far much less than their retailing price during the IPO.The share price for Safricom have been less than static in the trading floor of Nairobi Stock Exchange.One tends to think that the IPO was meant to offload shares(wink! wink-Mobitelea) and leave the network to die its natural death .If i was Michael Joseph i wouldn't renew my contract only to suffer shame in the event the Company collapses.The new companies are rapidly edging out Safaricom while there is no sign of hard fight by the network to retain or get new subscribers !Safaricom wake up from your slumber lest your massive network and infrastructure goes down to the dogs!

Ongea Tarrif-Safaricoms Latest Brainchild!

Am I so rife with excitement!Safaricom Kenya's leading mobile phone service provider has just launched Ongea Tariff which is set to rival Celtel Tariffs which offer much lower rates but with a call set up charge!The new pre paid tariff will cost a flat fee of 10 bob a minute all day all night with n other hidden charges.The offer includes one free migration from another tariff within the safaricom regime!All one needs to do is dial *212*1# to change to Ongea Tariff.

While Celtel may have cheaper tariff's Safaricom has more subscribers and it is expected that an avalanche of Safaricom's Subscribers will migrate to the new tariff and that more and more Kenyans will be able to make phone calls through out the day unlike it was previously most had to wait for off-peak rates.The prices are set to drop significantly after the permanent secretary in ministry of Information recently announced that the Government is considering lowering the taxes on used airtime from around 24 % to 10 % which will mean a drastic drop in mobile prices!Now thats the development that Kenyans eagerly look foward to-easy communication!

Mobile Tv -Another Reason To Buy Safaricom Shares!

Mobile phones have revolutionised the flow of information in Africa.The service providers have raked in millions of dollars due to the mobile industry and the services mobile phone tend to open up.The profits are set to rise tremendously with the advent of Mobile Tv which will essentially mean a wider advertisement market which can be appropriately be dubbed"adverts on the go".I foreseably see Safaricom being among the first companies to venture into this avenue in Kenya and that means profits.

Mobile Tv involves merging mobile phone services with television content over cellular networks.Unlike traditional television sets, mobile phones offer unmatchable advantages such as:

• Ease in mobility


• Selectivity of content(i.e. video on demand)


• Interactive TV


• Internet facilities

Hence of necessity the mobile service provider that will bid and buy the license to provide mobile content will increase its profit and viability.Mobile Tv content currently can be supplied through a number of formats including a two-way cellular network and the second is through a one-way dedicated broadcast network. These include digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H), digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB), TDtv (based on TD-CDMA technology from [IPWireless]), 1seg (based on Japan's ISDB-T), DAB and MediaFLO. (courtesy of wikipedia inc)The Eu recently endorsed the DVB-H(Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds) as its uniform platform among the member states so as to achieve consistency and interconectivity among the member states.The DVB-H standard has also been adopted by South Africa with Multi Choice the providers of DSTV taking the lead in establishing the service(see here for the press release)Nigeria has similarly followed suit link here .It is expected that there will be over 500 million mobile tv customers worldwide by 2011.At the moment South Korea is the most advanced mobile tv market with over 10% of its population using TV enabled mobile phones. In Britain mobile tv service is provided by the Virgin Group subsidiary company Virgin Mobile among other players in the industry.

The traditional TV providers such as Kenya Broadcasting Corporation(KBC), Kenya Television Network(KTN) and Nation Television(NTV) should brace themselves for the competition that will arise due to this facility that can be supported by CDMA enabled, 3G and 4G mobile phones.DSTV Africa have actually taken the lead in launching the service hence the competition is iminent. In contemplation of digital advances the Nation Media group recently established an ITC department to specifically deal with such challenges.

On the international front the license costs quite some amount for example the San Diego based Qualcomm Inc the largest maker of chips that power cell phones recently purchased a radio spectrum(6 megahertz) network at 554.6 million .It is expected that the license to operate and provide mobile TV content in Kenya will be priced differently and at a higher rate from the usual TV and Radio broadcasting rights.Whatever the case the service should be amply priced so as to benefit the ordinary mwananchi.The fact that the internet will soon take over fromTelevision advertisements as the biggest advertising medium in Britain according to a report by Internet Advetising Bureau(IAB),Pricewaterhouse and Coopers and the World Advertising Centre further propounds the potential of internet enabled mobile phones as the next big thing in the advertisement industry.

In the local scene with new products such as M-Pesa(mobile banking) and prospects of mobile tv coming up one has all the more reasons to own shares in Safaricom.

Safaricom IPO-Buy When There's Blood On The Street!

There's a cliche among stock market fraternities that one should buy shares when theres blood on the street.What the cliche' actually postulates is that the best time to buy shares is when they are adversities as people tend to offload precious shares at concessionary rates in a hurry only to regret later.As it is the Government of Kenya is poised to offload a percentage of its shares to the local market through an initial public offering.On the other hand the Orange Democratic Movement which has an immense and persuasive following is against the selling of the shares until a Cabinet is constituted and issues regarding a silent partner in Vodafone Kenya by the name Mobitelea (K) Limited are sorted out!

This impasse will have the effect of many Kenyans of particular political persuasion opting out of the shares at the present.That in itself will create an opportunity for the intelligent speculator to buy shares and offload them when the share value price of Kshs 5 bob a share rises immensely!On an intelligent perspective the issue of Mobitelea is a non starter.If it is proved that the sinister Mobitelea Company fraudulently bought shares from Vodafone Kenya the net effect of the IPO will be to increase the share value of vodafone Kenya alongside the shares of Mobitelea.Now when Mobitelea intends to offload its shares in Vodafone(K) it will be at a higher value than they bought them.At the same time it must be certain to the Kenyan public that the shares being offered are solely Telco Telkom Kenya's share in Saafaricom which is estimated at 60% of the hareholding.The shareholding of Safaricom is muddy with a lot of conflicting reports worse is that while Company documents at the companies registry are supposed to be public,both Safaricom and Mobitelea Company files are unavailable at the moment for public scrutiny.These are the issues that raise a query about the transaction.

Transparency is important in order to quell any rumours and also for purposes of ascertaining the truth but where a matter is shroud with secrecy ,suspicions arise!If there is fraud Kenyans will end up perpertuating grand corruption making a penny here whereas billions are lost !That is a path that must be avoided.It simply cannot continue to be business as usual !Another issue also readily apparent in the sale revolves around the conflict of interest seeing that theLead Advisor Dyer& Blair Bank is owned by Jimnah Mbaru who happens to be retailer of the shares and a chairman of the Nairobi Stock Exchange.He simply has too much vested interest and a prominent role in the share offering that he shouldnt have been given the multiple roles for the sake of decency and public confidence in the transaction.But that now is water under the bridge as the IPO is scheduled for offering commencing 28 March, 2008.

For a peek of the prospectus bankelele has managed to obtain it a day before the prospectus,how ?Kenyans are resourceful.Happy buying!

Safaricom IPO Set To Go!

Breaking News -The Kenyan Court of Appeal has today in a court ruling delivered by Justice Emmanuel Okubasu,Justice Erastus Githinji and Justice Onyango Otieno declined an application fronted by the opposition to forestall the sale of Kenya's most biggest Company and communication giant Safaricom!It is now hoped that the shares will be offered anytime next week before the General elections on December 27th .

The current establishment has for long sought to publicly sale the shares of the telecommunication giant however members of the opposition have alleged that there currently is no sufficient legal framework available to sanction the sale (the opposition have been pushing for the coming into force of the Privatization Act passed in 2005 to come into force.The same has not been gazetted for it to take effect) and that the hurried sale by the current regime is malicious and a tittered with corruption. The Court of appeal in unprecedented move claimed that it has no jurisdiction in the issue(if the Kenyan Court of Appeal lacks Jurisdiction then who does?).I do not want to fault the Judgment having not had the opportunity to scrutinize it!But i hope that the learned justices acted uberimae fidei (in utmost good faith) and looked keenly and sufficiently at all the legal parameters.

Seeing this latest development,no doubt ,for the Kenyan populace,its going to be a tough year with the festive season,elections,new year, fees... etc but if the IPO is under "microwave speed" sold to the public through the Nairobi Stock Exchange(NSE) make sure you buy some!