Kenya-based telco Safaricom and the Equity Group have announced a partnership to promote financial inclusion: this will be done through a new financial product which will explore regional synergies and facilitate easier cash exchange between between their agents and customers.
The agreement will see the companies tap into the capabilities of technology and information sharing to build a common approach to risks such as fraud and cyber-security.
Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore said, “At Safaricom, we are continuously driven to explore new ways to provide our customers with the best possible experience on our network. As we continue on our journey to become a more widely accessible digital platform, symbiotic partnerships like this one will unlock new opportunities for our entire ecosystem to benefit from enriched innovation, all based on a socially conscious business model.”
Equity Group CEO James Mwangi, says the bank will leverage on the collaboration and the robust macro-economic growth to be the region’s leading bank. He adds, “We strive to respond to our customers’ emerging needs, aspirations and preferences. As demand for these services evolve in tandem with the changing lifestyles, we are positioning ourselves to create new bridges of opportunity for Kenyans by combining the empowering nature of access to credit with the reach and transparency of technology.”
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Safaricom has so far partnered with two large financial service providers in the industry including KCB Group in offering KCB Mpesa. It has also partnered with, Fuliza. Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) to provide its Mshwari product, and has dealt with both KCB and CBA to facilitate Fuliza, the newly launched overdraft product.
The partnership, which will initially focus on building bridges between the work of the two organizations, was formalized during a formal signing ceremony attended by the CEOs of both organizations on Monday.
