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Safaricom Sustainability Report 2016
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BIGbox initially fails to wow customers
Originally launched in May 2015, the BIGbox is a decoder that offers both TV and the internet to the home user. In August
2015, we decided to suspend the product due to technical issues and low sales. The decoder needs to be able to access
3G or 4G services in order to function and one of the main issues was that the decoder was sold to customers in areas with
poor connectivity. Other issues included very little after-sales support to help customers install and configure the device
correctly.
Important lessons were learnt from these initial setbacks and included in the successful re-launch of the decoder in
November 2015. The BIGbox software was upgraded to improve performance and the device is only sold to customers
in areas that have good mobile broadband connectivity. Brand Ambassadors have been assigned to retail outlets to
demonstrate how to use and configure the device properly and customers are also offered the option to have an installer
visit their home and assist with the installation. The price has also been slashed by 50% to make it the most affordable 4G Wi-
Fi device on the market. As a result of these improvements, the relaunch has been a success and total sales had reached
6,141 as of March 2016.
M-PESA continues to deepen financial inclusion
M-PESA continues to grow and evolve from a simple mobile money transfer service into a robust payment platform and a
driver of financial inclusion. Revenue from the service grew by 27.2% from KSh 32.63 million in FY15 to KSh 41.50 during the
year. Likewise, the number of users (active in the last 30 days) leapt up by 19.8%, from 13.86 million to 16.6 million in March
2016.
FY16
FY15
FY14
M-PESA Revenue (KSh billion)
41.50
32.63
26.56
M-PESA Customers (million)*
16.6
13.86
12.16
* 30-day active
One pleasing aspect of this growth is that our
M-Shwari
banking service, which makes it possible for ordinary Kenyans to
save, earn interest and borrow money using their mobile phones and the M-PESA service, has grown from 3 million to 3.9
million active users and has facilitated KSh 8.1 billion in deposits and KSh 7.4 billion in loans at 2.0% interest.