To curb the menace of sim card fraud amongst Kenyans, Kenya’s biggest mobile service provider – Safaricom has unveiled a new security feature with a caption “tuwaanike” – meaning “expose them” that’s expected to thwart conmen from fraudulently registering a new mobile number with someone else ID number. The new feature will alert subscribers with an existing mobile number on the Safaricom network whenever a new phone number is being registered under their details to accept or deny.

Cases of SIM card fraud in the country have risen tremendously with conmen using Identification details acquired from MPESA to register new mobile numbers that often end up being used in criminal activities. The new measure is therefore expected to come as a relief to many Kenyans who have fallen victim to these types of activities.   

Recently, Kenya’s head of investigating criminal activities otherwise known by the acronym “DCI” warned that online crime had skyrocketed where fraudsters go to the extend of selling non existent items, circulating phishing emails and cash in using mobile money services registered with unsuspecting individual’s details.

With a mobile number, someone can easily do a lot of cash related transactions including applying for mobile loans, receiving cash, paying for services and products. In fact, it has become very common to find an MPESA agent colluding with these criminals to share personal details of customers who end up to discover late when a crime has already been committed.

How the new number registration security feature works.

The new security feature is only active to subscribers who are already Safaricom customers. To be effective, Safaricom must already have your details, and this is only possible if you’re already a customer. A text message is automatically sent to your active mobile phone number to either accept by responding with “YES” or deny by responding “NO”. Depending on your response, the new number is ether registered with your ID number or not registered.

Upon a new request to register a SIM card with your ID number, you’ll receive a text message from “707”, reading: Dear customer, a new number is about to be registered under your ID number. Please reply with YES to continue or NO to cancel the registration.

This means, a new SIM is only registered with your approval. Criminals have been registering new SIM cards with someone else details only to end up abandoning the phone number once accomplishing their mission.

Current social distancing directives by the Kenyan government has made physical attending of classes by learners impossible; as a tentative solution, institutions have instead opted to utilize available technologies and offer lessons through e-learning. However, not all institutions, parents and even learners are privileged to have resources that would acquire necessary hardware to facilitate the same.  We’ve recently seen the likes of Safaricom create partnerships with like minded organizations to donate tablets to students in urban slums to facilitate virtual learning.

As much as most learners are eager to continue pursuing their lessons online, not everything is going in their favor. A few educational content focused organizations such as longhorn have agreed to support e-learning efforts by allowing learners access to important education content on their portals. But this is not all, learners still need to have internet and a tablet or computer which can be expensive to acquire during this period.  

Absa bank has therefore agreed to offer some relief to parents and institutions during this difficult period. The financial institution will support schools to procure e-learning infrastructure including the hardware and software required for e-learning. The bank will also avail financial support to parents who need to acquire necessary hardware such as laptops for their school-going children.

The announcement was made by the bank’s managing director here in Kenya Jeremy Awori who acknowledged the difficult crisis facing the entire world in modern history. He also added that the bank was keen to provide necessary support during these tough times to enable institution continue contacting their activities during and beyond these extraordinary times.

The financial institution has also reviewed its credit terms and is offering various relief options to cushion schools against the financial difficulties presented by COVID-19. Speaking during the announcement, Awori acknowledged that some of the bank’s customers are struggling to meet their financial obligations. He therefore announced the bank will continue working with them through various payment relief options as well as the reviewed credit opportunities to provide them with much-needed continuity during this period.

Telkom Kenya has partnered with Valentis Health, to provide subsidized telemedicine services to the Telco’s customers dubbed “Dial Daktari”. In the deal, Telkom Kenya subscribers are set to access medical consultations from Valentis Health at reduced prices using their mobile phones. Valentis Health is a doctor-founded healthcare service that provides telemedicine services in the country. In the wake of current outbreak that has forced many Kenyans to practice social distancing, companies are embracing technology to offer services through the use of internet without requiring customers to be present at their offices.

The Dial Daktari initiative will give Telkom Kenya customers access to credible board licensed doctors that can be reached using a mobile phone. The service comes at a perfect time when patients are encouraged to observe social distancing as a measure to help curb the spread of the current pandemic.   

How Telkom Kenya customers can access Dial Daktari on their phones;

If you have a Telkom line, you can access the service toll-free by calling 0800-221-011. A care manager will then walk you through triage and then assign you to a doctor for a consultation. In case you’ll need a prescription, one will be issued by the doctor and will be sent directly to one of various partnering pharmacies or directly to you.  Dial Daktari will also make referrals to specialists or to laboratories for further investigations. In emergency cases, Dial Daktari will facilitate the dispatch of an ambulance to the patient for further assessment and transfer to a hospital.

The cost of teleconsultation will be KSh.450, exclusive to Telkom Kenya customers and can be paid via   a T-Kash through Paybill Number 144563. On top of the telephone consultations, patients can opt to download the Valentis Health App which will enable them track symptoms, communicate with doctors via text as well as through video consultations. With Mental Health becoming an increasing and rising concern in this time, Dial Daktari has a team of counsellors to assist patients experiencing acute stress and anxiety.

Speaking on the development, the Founder and CEO of Valentis Health Dr. Don OTHORO said the integration of online and offline healthcare meant that doctors were able to deliver seamless consultations, just as they would in person. He also acknowledged the need to exercise social distancing and avoid unnecessary visits to health care facilities where patients may put themselves or others at risk of infection.

With this in mind, telemedicine has become an integral part of primary health care, enabling patients to seek medical attention for other medical conditions as well enquire about their symptoms, he added.

Telkom’s Chief Executive Officer Mugo KIBATI on his end acknowledged how technology will continue to play an integral part in the lives of Kenyans, more so now that it is enabling them to make the switch to conducting their affairs, virtually, from home.

The current situation has forced most organizations in the country to let their staff work from home while learning institutions embark on e-learning to continue offering lessons to learners. The impact extends further to the general public who now utilize virtual socialization while medical centers deploy consultation via phone. In conclusion, Mr. KIBATI pointed out how the partnership with Valentis Health, demonstrated the role technology can play to bridge the gap of people, physicians and health systems, enabling patients to stay at home and communicate with doctors.

Becoming a well-known influencer to product marketers has become one of the most desired professions for upcoming Kenyan youths for some really good reasons. But the path to its success doesn’t have to always be marred with controversy or negative publicity. As much as there are those who’ve rose to become very expensive influencers in Kenya through disturbing controversies that often tarnish their reputations for good, it is possible to keep your good reputation and become a force to reckon in the field.

True, some well known individuals in the sector have managed to rise way above the fold in the shortest time possible, and this can be attributed to instances that have taken Kenyans on social media by surprise both in a good way or negatively. But becoming a professional influencer in Kenya ought to involve hard work and brilliant thinking just like any other profession.

Is becoming an influencer worthy of a profession in Kenya?

The simple answer to the above question is “YES”. Product manufacturers and service-oriented companies have grown to recognize the impact influencers have on their products and services. The segment had long been left to celebrities ranging from actors, TV hosts or musicians; but the popularity of social media platforms such as Facebook, twitter, Instagram or even YouTube offers even more effective ways to market products and services.

There are many Kenyans out there who can now purchase a product just because someone they’re following or admire used the product or service. And to many companies, marketing an item is all about having the most impact on consumers decision, which is why becoming an influencer on social media mostly depends on the number of followers. Just like TV commercials, the whole point of using social media influencers is to reach as much audience as possible.

How to become a social media influencer in Kenya

1.      Identify your specialty or talent

Companies deploy Influencer marketing option by using top content creators, specialized in their respective niches, to help them improve brand awareness, increase traffic, and drive their brand’s message to desired target audience. There’s no better way to create moving content than doing what you really like most. Remember the recent discovery of azziad nasenya with her utawezana dance moves featured on tiktok, not knowing that whatever she was doing could at some point propel her to a privileged position, she become an overnight sensation for doing what she loved most. Since then her social media following has swollen to professional levels.

2.      Identify your comfortable platforms.

Secondly, identify your most preferred social media platform. In reference to Azziad Nasenya’s case, I didn’t even know there are that many Kenyans using tiktok until her videos went viral. So, it doesn’t really matter where you post your content as long as it relates to what you’re doing.

 I’d assume that most photographers would prefer Instagram as the platform is top notch in photography blogging, and at the same time most video reviewers would settle on YouTube. Facebook is unrivalled for general bloggers.

3.      Build a formidable following

Being a social media influencer is all about the following you build. As much as we’d love to associate with someone who posts stunning content, as an advertiser, I’d be willing to advertise my products or services with someone who has the most following of target audience than someone who just creates exemplary content.

There are various ways to build unsurmountable following on social media. You could create content and market it before becoming a marketer yourself. Ironically, the essence of becoming a social media influencer first involves marketing yourself first. If you’re a photographer or fashion designer for example, you’ll need to put your work out there by marketing. Post in relevant Facebook groups, invite your friends to like your page and even tell friends to invite their friends as well.

4.      Create a company portfolio and share with potential companies

It’ll be worthless to have an enormous social media following if it doesn’t positively impact your life and one way to use your influence is to monetize it. Reach out to companies and share your portfolio. Photographers could be very successful with phone makers that often tout their cameras as the best in the industry.

5.      And finally; ask yourself questions companies are looking to be answered

• Companies will be seeking to know if the influencer and his or her lifestyle fit their brand image
• Have you worked with any competitors?
• Who is this your current audience?
• Is the company’s target audience active on the platform/ channel
• How have you packaged your cost, do you fit client’s budget?
• Have you used any of client’s products and/ or services before?
• Do you have the kind of personality people would want to work with?
• As an influencer, what do you expect from the client

Safaricom and Dignitas have collaborated to donate tablets for students in Kawangware and Dandora in support of e-learning especially during this period when all institutions have closed their physical branches to embrace e-learning instead as a measure to curb the spread of covid-19. Safaricom through its foundation and Dignitas a non-governmental organization that works to provide access to education in Kenya’s urban slums seeks to promote e-learning to a thousand households drawn from the two slums through the distribution of the tablets.  

Most schools in the country have embarked on embracing technology as a means of curbing the spread of the current outbreak with most institutions offering classes online. Since the current outbreak almost caught everyone unaware, students from poor backgrounds or remote areas of the country that have little or no access to the internet thereby hanging on the disadvantaged segment in the country.

Elite schools have managed to make arrangements, some involving mobile service providers in the country to continue offering learning lessons through the internet so that most don’t miss out on the curriculum that is essential for them to pass their upcoming exams. However, not all students have the same financial muscle to own a tablet or computer for learning, let alone access to the internet.

 Speaking on the unveiling of free tablets, Safaricom foundation chairman joseph ogutu noted the current crisis had disrupted day-to-day learning in schools which has unfortunately left some students behind; especially those who cannot afford smart phones or tablets for online learning. He added the foundation was trying to bridge this divide not only through philanthropy like the free tablet initiative but also through products such as Shupavu 291 which is in partnership with Eneza and allows for access to learning and revision content via text messages and USSD.

The project aims to give tablets to student leaders and teachers from the two informal settlements who will use the devices to relay education content to other students both via SMS and through online platforms. 

Dignitas on its end through Executive Director Deborah Kimanthi said they were excited to be partnering with Safaricom Foundation during this crisis. She added the NGO believed that every child deserved the opportunity to thrive and succeed. However, many children rely on school for protection and well-being as well as learning. She also added their support to children in this season is aimed at protecting their well-being and promote learning at home so that all children could reach their potential.

Safaricom previously engaged Eneza Education, Longhorn Publishers and Viusasa Elimu to provide free access to educational content for primary and secondary school students studying from home.

 The partnership with Eneza Education allows students from grade 4 to form 4 access learning and revision content on the SMS-based Shupavu291 free of charge following a 60-day waiver of the daily KES 3 subscription fee. The platform can be accessed via USSD *291# or the short code 20851.

Learners with internet access can also access education content on Shupavu Web, Viusasa Elimu and the Longhorn E-learning portals through a free education bundle available on *544#