KCB, Safaricom Gear Up for Collaborative Push Towards a Cash-lite Economy

Historic partnership between Kenya’s largest bank and the country’s leading telecommunications company signals a fundamental shift in the delivery of financial services

Nairobi, July 9, 2014…  KCB Group and Safaricom Limited, two of East Africa’s most successful companies today announced a far-reaching strategic partnership that is expected to reshape how tens of millions of consumers in Kenya access financial and telecommunication services.

The partnership is expected to be a game-changer, bringing together the region’s leading mobile operator and bank, who both enjoy the talent, the vast resources and a distribution muscle that extends from the smallest of the village shop in the remotest places in Kenya to the upmarket urban centres.

Safaricom today enjoys a customer base of 21.5 million customers served in over 250,000 shops—88,000 of which are M-PESA agents, and KCB Group is East Africa’s largest commercial Bank that was established in 1896 in Kenya. It has the largest branch network in the Region of 236 branches, 950 ATMs and 8,000 agents and 3 million customers.

“By coming together, pooling our resources and building on the strength of the KCB and Safaricom brands, we have demonstrated that together we can do more to grow the business opportunities in our respective markets and deliver better solutions to our mutual customers ” said Joshua Oigara, CEO, KCB Group.

“We bring to the table sound financial counsel and banking services that have been tailored to suit the various market niches and competitively-priced credit facilities that can support either large-scale developments or entrepreneurs in the SME sector”, he added.

Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore, said , “In the next few weeks we expect to offer our combined customer base the best-in-class of financials services, and integrated communication solutions.  I am a personal believer that the competitive landscape requires closer collaboration between organisations who share similar beliefs of providing transformative products and services to the Kenyan consumers”

Mr. Collymore added, “With this partnership we will strengthen our position as the Partner of Choice for Business, Government and NGO’s and a major player in Deepening Financial Inclusion. We will also demonstrate more effectively how technology can be used to transform lives”.

The partnership follows in global trends that have seen banks and telecommunications organisations engage in formal partnerships that enable them use their respective innovation and strategic strengths to jointly deploy products and solutions that address customer’s needs comprehensively.

Historic partnership between Kenya’s largest bank and the country’s leading telecommunications company signals a fundamental shift in the delivery of financial services

Nairobi, July 9, 2014…  KCB Group and Safaricom Limited, two of East Africa’s most successful companies today announced a far-reaching strategic partnership that is expected to reshape how tens of millions of consumers in Kenya access financial and telecommunication services.

The partnership is expected to be a game-changer, bringing together the region’s leading mobile operator and bank, who both enjoy the talent, the vast resources and a distribution muscle that extends from the smallest of the village shop in the remotest places in Kenya to the upmarket urban centres.

Safaricom today enjoys a customer base of 21.5 million customers served in over 250,000 shops—88,000 of which are M-PESA agents, and KCB Group is East Africa’s largest commercial Bank that was established in 1896 in Kenya. It has the largest branch network in the Region of 236 branches, 950 ATMs and 8,000 agents and 3 million customers.

“By coming together, pooling our resources and building on the strength of the KCB and Safaricom brands, we have demonstrated that together we can do more to grow the business opportunities in our respective markets and deliver better solutions to our mutual customers ” said Joshua Oigara, CEO, KCB Group.

“We bring to the table sound financial counsel and banking services that have been tailored to suit the various market niches and competitively-priced credit facilities that can support either large-scale developments or entrepreneurs in the SME sector”, he added.

Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore, said , “In the next few weeks we expect to offer our combined customer base the best-in-class of financials services, and integrated communication solutions.  I am a personal believer that the competitive landscape requires closer collaboration between organisations who share similar beliefs of providing transformative products and services to the Kenyan consumers”

Mr. Collymore added, “With this partnership we will strengthen our position as the Partner of Choice for Business, Government and NGO’s and a major player in Deepening Financial Inclusion. We will also demonstrate more effectively how technology can be used to transform lives”.

The partnership follows in global trends that have seen banks and telecommunications organisations engage in formal partnerships that enable them use their respective innovation and strategic strengths to jointly deploy products and solutions that address customer’s needs comprehensively.