Following successful negotiations with its global network of partners and regional governments, Safaricom has announced significant reductions in roaming rates for its subscribers. The creation of a new roaming bundle will enable subscribers to enjoy reduced roaming charges in 21 countries located in North and Central Africa, Europe and New Zealand. In addition, subscribers travelling to Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates shall enjoy reduced rates for calls made to Kenya.

“We always place the needs of our customers at the forefront of our business. We have aggressively lobbied countries and our partners to ensure our subscribers can enjoy the same reliable communication services they have come to know in Kenya when they travel at significantly reduced rates,” said Bob Collymore, CEO Safaricom.

Following the signing of a new agreement with Vodafone affiliates, for just Sh200, subscribers can access up to 10 minutes of voice services, 10 SMS, and 10MBs of data in 21 countries, providing subscribers with a simple solution for their roaming needs.

Safaricom has secured the roaming agreements through its affiliates in Albania, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey, United Kingdom, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, and Mozambique among other countries.

In practice, the development means that a subscriber who travels to Egypt will now pay just Sh200 for ten minutes of conversation, down from the previous charges of over Sh900.

For subscribers who are travelling to the United Arab Emirates and roaming on Etisalat, calling rates have come down by 85%, while data customers will now pay Sh100 per MB, down from the Sh1,020 that was charged previously.

The news follows Safaricom’s recent announcement of reduction of roaming charges in Rwanda, where costs came down by up to 60%. The company is also pursuing targeted agreements with other countries in the East African bloc such as Uganda and Tanzania.

In order to enhance awareness of the new rates, Safaricom created a free tool that advises subscribers on roaming rates.

To access information on roaming, customers can simply dial *200# (for PostPay) or *100# (for PrePay), select “Products & Services” from the menu, “Safaricom Roaming”, select “Roaming Tariffs and Tips” and then enter the Country Name to get details on Roaming Tariffs, available Roaming Services, Preferential Networks and Roaming Tips.

Safaricom has launched a transformative USD 1 million (Kshs. 90 million) Venture Fund aimed at accelerating the development of innovative mobile applications and solutions by availing much needed capital to ICT start-ups. The Safaricom Spark Venture Fund will be offered to Mobile ICT based start-ups based in Kenya either through equity Investment in their businesses or in the form of other debt instruments. Start-ups will be eligible to receive amounts between USD 75,000 and USD 250,000. The fund has been set-up for an initial 2 year period.

“We see this as a much needed catalyst that will help actualize our aspiration to nurture a vibrant ICT economy in Kenya. It will directly address the key startup and developers’ pain points such as the cost and speed of accessing a platform where they can test their solutions,” said Joe Ogutu, Director, Strategy and Innovation at Safaricom.

Leading Communications and IT Solutions provider AccessKenya Group has completed the rollout of its metropolitan fiber network in key target areas around Nairobi and its environs. The move is expected to grow the firm’s connectivity propositions in Industrial area, Ruaraka, Westlands, Parklands, Mombasa road and the Central Business District among other localities.

“Our interest is in helping businesses grow by delivering affordable but critical end to end solutions for enterprises and even smaller companies”, said Jonathan Somen, AccessKenya Chief Executive.

AccessKenya has earmarked an investment spend of Kes 300 Million in fiber technology through to 2015 in Nairobi, Thika and Mombasa.

Safaricom Subscribers who have signed up for the self-care service have something to forward to after the mobile service provider launched a promo that will see customers get up to Ksh1000 worth of airtime every 30 minutes. The promo dubbed as Kwachua Kredo is expected to increase the number of subscribers using the online self-care portal instead of visiting or calling the customer care. This comes in the wake of increased competition on Safaricom’s most popular service – Mpesa, after Kenya’s Equity bank rolled out its thin sim technology offering an alternative mobile money transfer service.

Safaricom subscribers are able to access several services on the self-care portal without having to call Customer Care or Visit the Retail shops, simply dubbed as a “Do-It-Yourself service”.  Services include viewing and managing accounts online such as

Leading Corporate Internet and Information Technology Solutions provider AccessKenya Group has announced a new market push for Cloud Services in East Africa. Coming off its ongoing business acceleration and expansion strategy the company now says it will target new businesses with a total Managed Services solution as its core business focus over the next three years. “Enterprises are re-looking at how best to meet their internal IT needs while accelerating service delivery in a cost effective way. We intend to deliver the best service proposition for IT as a Service (ITaaS), ICT Outsourcing, Next Generation Data Centre and Applications Services,” he said.

ITaaS adoption was named by CIO.com, among the top ten trends to watch in the global IT outsourcing industry in 2014. With the advent of Big Data and the Internet of Things, AccessKenya now seeks to cement its position as a market leader in the regional cloud technology space.

Leading Corporate Internet and Information Technology Solutions provider AccessKenya Group has announced the appointment of Peter Koinange as the new Regional Manager for the Mombasa office. The appointment that takes effect immediately comes in the midst of the ongoing integration of AccessKenya Group and Internet Solutions Kenya, following the company’s acquisition by Dimension Data in 2013.

Koinange brings to AccessKenya 8 years experience in business leadership and management spanning sales and client services. He joins AccessKenya from Jamii Telkom where he was the Head of Enterprise-Coast region.

“I am happy to be joining a formidable team and look forward to contributing and sharing in many successes within the AccessKenya group not only at the coast, but across the regions where we operate,” said Koinange.

The new regional Manager will be charged with developing new business and supporting AccessKenya’s growth in the lucrative but niche Mombasa enterprise sector.

Speaking on the appointment, Kris Senanu the Deputy Chief Executive, AccessKenya said the company was gearing for growth at the coast with plans to expand its fiber technology network as well as introduce new service propositions in the near future.

“We are excited by the opportunities that abound in the fast emerging cloud computing and data space. It is our intention therefore to be at the forefront of innovation looking at the urgent needs of the sector, mainly end to end ICT solutions,” said Senanu.

According to AccessKenya there exists numerous opportunities in the Shipping, Container Freight Stations (CFS), Clearing and Forwarding and Logistics services in Mombasa.

AccessKenya also operates other offices in Nakuru and Kisumu counties and is currently implementing a business acceleration strategy that includes opening a country office in Uganda in October.

Orange Kenya and CIC Insurance group have partnered to launch a mobile based insurance product dubbed Orange Bima that will allow subscribers to insure their mobile devices up to Kshs 40,000 as well as sign-up for a life cover of up-to Kshs 100,000. Orange Bima offers affordable daily premium payments of just Kshs 1 which is deducted from airtime credit. In other terms, it costs as little as sending a text message from your device, most mobile service providers in the country charge around the same amount for sending a text message within their network.

Speaking on the development on behalf of Orange Kenya’s CEO Mr. Mickael Ghossein, Orange Kenya’s Chief Business Marketing Officer Mireille El Helou said Orange Bima added convenience in the insurance sector by allowing flexible and timely premium payments. The product was strategic in the company’s effort to increase the overall insurance penetration in Kenya, Mireille added.

“Insurance policies are vital in solutions that help cover risk, they save subscribers on substantial amounts of money in the event of unforeseen occurrences. Orange Kenya was therefore keen on playing its part when it comes to the use of mobile devices by subscribers. Orange Bima will cover the device against all risks, said Ghossein.

On his part, the managing Director of CIC Insurance Mr. Nelson Kuria said the partnership will help boost insurance penetration, especially in the life insurance segment.

Kuria also added that companies in the insurance segment were ready and willing to appreciate support from other likeminded corporate players to bolster the insurance uptake in the country. At CIC Group, they were pleased that Orange had opened up its subscriber base to CIC so that they would offer their life cover product at very competitive rates.

How to use Orange Bima Service

To get a life cover from CIC Insurance, subscribers can use the following USSD Code: *242#, and then follow instructions. This ensures the service is fully flexible and can be accessed anywhere be it at home or office and offers a wide range of premium payment periods ranging from daily, weekly to monthly deductions from airtime credit. Kuria also pointed out that CIC Insurance wanted to tap into opportunities offered by rapid growth in the telecommunications sector to widen its market share through its mobile premium payment platform dubbed “CIC M-Bima”, by targeting mobile subscribers.

Orange Bima will cover Orange mobile subscriber’s devices as well as offer life cover to those who purchase devices from Orange shops from August 5th, 2014. The policy insures the device against all risks and a life cover against accidental death, and customers will have a choice of either Silver, Gold or Platinum insurance covers, attracting annual premiums of Kshs 365, Kshs 1,000 and Kshs 2,000 respectively.

The life cover is however open to all Orange mobile subscribers, insuring against accidental or natural death, with the choice of Diamond, Platinum and Infinity plans. Annual premium for the Diamond cover will be Kshs 240, Kshs 600 for Platinum and Kshs 800 for the Infinity cover. To register for any of the covers, subscribers will be required to dial *242#.

Using the new cover, subscribers can also insure up to 2 devices. To claim your device +life cover, please visit your closest Orange shop with any necessary documentation. For Life cover only, they can be made at any CIC Insurance branch

The subscribers can as well change their payment plan between daily, weekly and monthly at any time by dialling *242# and following the on screen instructions to manage their account.