Perminus Wainaina has developed new phone addictions: messaging and browsing. The CEO of Corporate Staffing Services (CSS), a recruitment and HR consulting firm, finds himself doing more on his smartphone than his laptop these days.
“Well, let’s say these are better addictions since they bring in business,” Mr Wainaina says at his fourth floor office at Mayfair Office Suites in Parklands, Nairobi.
Messaging – either on SMS, social media or email – has become a leading means of communication among young people and youthful business owners. Kenyans have clung onto short text messages (SMSs) despite actively using web-based message apps that include WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter.
Kenyans send up to five billion text messages in a month, according to the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA), an indication of just how text-messaging plays a critical role. Wainaina, who has been using Safaricom SIM card since 2002, says he chats using SMS with staff and even clients, as it’s less intrusive in the current busy lifestyle.
From an accounting student, Wainaina has become a stable SME owner in the HR sector, with his phone line playing a critical role in communication and payments. He says he acquired an extra Safaricom line for the office as business grew and got busier. “Safaricom has made a difference in people’s lives,” he says. “It had its issues initially but it has enabled my business to grow. With a working phone, you can’t miss a deal.”
With many people on the Safaricom network, it made sense having a Safaricom SIM card as mobile operators often made it cheaper to call or text within same network. Safaricom always has offers that save callers some money.
In comes M-PESA
The entry of M-Pesa in 2007 marked another milestone for not only Safaricom, but also businesspeople.
Like Wainaina, Kennedy Wangatia got a major boost from M-PESA, the mobile money transfer service. Initially, small business men and women were paid in cheques/money transfers for even small amounts. Cash had its own challenges, especially when it involved a third party.
With M-PESA, businesspeople pay and get paid through the phone and receive the money instantly, which can be withdrawn from an M-PESA agent. “Initially I was skeptical but with time I got used to it as many people embraced it,” says Wangatia, who runs Ngatia’s, a fashion boutique in Nairobi. “These days most of my payments are through M-PESA. Many people make orders on my Facebook page and pay through M-PESA.”
Wainaina says while his business has grown and gets paid mostly through cheques and bank transfers, M-PESA still finds many things to sort out at the office like paying smaller bills, purchasing office stuff and accessories as well as personal transactions.
Read Also: How Kenyans earn billions from Safaricom’s business
Credit is a lifeline for most businesses and Safaricom has been able to respond to this through credit services like M-Shwari, which is offered in collaboration with CBA Bank, at a 7% interest. The service offers credit based on a user’s credit history up to Ksh50,000.
Wangatia says he is a regular user of M-Shwari given the Kenyan culture of delayed payments and in some cases default. “Sometimes clients don’t honour their payments in time and yet I need to bring in more stock. When this happens I take credit from M-Shwari and charge the client lateness fee to cover the interest,” says Wangatia, as he uploads photos of new male trousers and shorts on Ngatia’s Facebook page.
The data revolution
He says he also displays his outfits on other social media platform such as Instagram and Whatsapp. To access social media, he uses Safaricom data, which has been bundled to suit various tastes from light users to heavy browsers like him. Wainaina also consumes data daily as he cheques the company’s website for comments and inquiries.
At the end, both Wainaina and Wangatia agree on one thing: no day goes without using a Safaricom product for business. It’s either a call or text or sending and receiving money. Thousands of other SMEs are using Safaricom products to grow and run their businesses efficiently and create millions of jobs.
Corporate Staffing, for instance, has five fulltime employees while Ngatia’s employs two casuals.
