Safaricom Launches New Ideas Portal to Stimulate Innovation

Nairobi, January 19th 2015… Safaricom today launched an interactive portal dubbed Zindua Café (www.safaricom.co.ke/zindua) through which external innovators and developers countrywide will be able to share their ideas, applications and prototypes with Safaricom.

“Over the years, we have received numerous proposals from customers on new ideas, products and services. This portal will serve as a central place where those ideas are captured while ensuring that Intellectual Property and other laws are given due regard,” said Joe Ogutu, Director, Strategy and Innovation, Safaricom.

Safaricom has been at the forefront in encouraging innovation in the mobile technology space with various properties that target developers.

As part of its engagements, the company today hosted an educational forum on Intellectual Property, a critical pain point for young developers who often find themselves unaware of the legal channels they can pursue to protect their information and how they can monetize their IP.

Alongside the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) and the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO), Safaricom experts took members of the mobile innovation ecosystem through tangible ways to understand and monetize their Intellectual Property.

“It is important to ensure that developers are able to protect their work, which lays solid ground for them to present the work to the market and earn from it,” said Mr. Ogutu.

Over the last few months, Safaricom has engaged the innovation ecosystem through a number of initiatives including the Safaricom Spark Venture Fund, and the annual Safaricom Appstar and Appwiz challenges, as it continues to nurture innovation in the growing mobile ecosystem in Kenya.

Nairobi, January 19th 2015… Safaricom today launched an interactive portal dubbed Zindua Café (www.safaricom.co.ke/zindua) through which external innovators and developers countrywide will be able to share their ideas, applications and prototypes with Safaricom.

“Over the years, we have received numerous proposals from customers on new ideas, products and services. This portal will serve as a central place where those ideas are captured while ensuring that Intellectual Property and other laws are given due regard,” said Joe Ogutu, Director, Strategy and Innovation, Safaricom.

Safaricom has been at the forefront in encouraging innovation in the mobile technology space with various properties that target developers.

As part of its engagements, the company today hosted an educational forum on Intellectual Property, a critical pain point for young developers who often find themselves unaware of the legal channels they can pursue to protect their information and how they can monetize their IP.

Alongside the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) and the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO), Safaricom experts took members of the mobile innovation ecosystem through tangible ways to understand and monetize their Intellectual Property.

“It is important to ensure that developers are able to protect their work, which lays solid ground for them to present the work to the market and earn from it,” said Mr. Ogutu.

Over the last few months, Safaricom has engaged the innovation ecosystem through a number of initiatives including the Safaricom Spark Venture Fund, and the annual Safaricom Appstar and Appwiz challenges, as it continues to nurture innovation in the growing mobile ecosystem in Kenya.