Zain Kenya makes another move

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 30 - Mobile telephony operator Zain Kenya has introduced Sh5 and Sh10 denomination airtime vouchers as it steps up its efforts to capture the mass market.

The introduction of the new vouchers is seen as a move to make the operator more accessible to the low-end market after a change in strategy following the entry of its new shareholders, Bharti Airtel.

Zain Kenya Managing Director Rene Meza said the move is aimed at complementing its recent 50 percent reduction of call charges.

“We are offering a wide range of scratch card denominations to suit the needs of all individuals. Access to telecommunication services is no longer a luxury but an integral part of each Kenyan’s socio-economic needs,” Mr Meza said.

Zain has made it clear it is out to gain leadership in the mobile market with Mr Meza saying the lowering of its tariffs was only the first ace up its sleeve. He has in the past said that the operator would be able to match any move its competitors make, making operations form them difficult.
Communications Commission of Kenya data show that Zain was closing in on the two million-subscriber mark.
Zain becomes the second operator to introduce the Sh5 and Sh10 vouchers after Safaricom made a similar move in November 2009.

“We would like to enable our subscribers to enjoy our new low calling rates without any hindrance. The low denomination scratch cards that we have introduced in the market underpins our continued commitment to make access to telecommunication services in Kenya more affordable,” Mr Meza said.

Since announcing a renewed focus on the mass-market segment, Zain Kenya has continued to roll out products targeting this sector.

Two weeks ago, the company launched a simplified interactive mobile phone account management menu service, which enables customers to access a wide range of value added services through a single short code free of charge. 

Among the new services incorporated include a unique and innovative airtime advance service, Kopa Credo, airtime-sharing service, Me2U and a call back request service, Please call me.

Mr Meza said Zain Kenya would continue enriching the customer experience through providing affordable and flexible services in line with the changing market needs. 

“We are very happy with the way the Kenyan market has received our new approach to business. We are confident that we will be able to reclaim a significant portion of the market share as we pursue our goal of attaining market leadership,” Mr Meza said.

He disclosed that Zain Kenya has embarked on upgrading her infrastructure to cope up with the growing traffic.

Last month Bharti Airtel announced that it had released Sh24 billion in capital investment into the Kenyan operation following acquisition of the company. 

BY MICHAEL KARANJA

Top e tourism gurus converge in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 25 - East African tourism industry stakeholders are set to benefit from discourses on e-tourism to be presented at a regional e-tourism conference set for early next week.

The conference, which will feature global online giants such as Trip Advisor and Expedia will focus on how East Africa’s tourism sector can harness the potential of the web, especially following the enormous interest generated in Africa from the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The conference comes in the wake of increased optimism in the Kenyan tourism sector following a peaceful referendum and an impending promulgation of a new Constitution on Friday August 27. This, coupled with impressive results in tourist arrivals in past half compared to 2007, is set add an impetus to the already stabling growth fuelled by the improved internet connectivity.

Speakers at the event will include Trip Advisor’s Head of Emerging Markets, Helena Egan and leading Internet innovator Jerome Touze - the company’s CEO and one of the Founders of WAYN.com – the world’s leading travel social network, which has over 16 million members, globally.

Mr Touze spoke at last year’s E Tourism Africa Summit in Johannesburg and he has since worked with South Africa Tourism on a social media campaign called the “Face of South Africa”, which has been hugely successful, attracting over five million views and 20,000 applications for the competition.

“We have achieved some amazing results through social media for South Africa Tourism and I am very pleased to be traveling to Nairobi to speak at the E Tourism East Africa Conference. Its great to see much more awareness and understanding from Tourist Boards about the importance of the web and social media as a strong marketing tool,” said Mr Touze.

E tourism Frontiers CEO Damian Cook, who is the convener, said that alongside the international speakers at this year’s summit, there will also be an impressive number of Africa based companies and projects presenting new and innovative ways of promoting and selling Africa online.

“Since our first conferences in Johannesburg and Nairobi in 2008, we have seen major changes in the way African tourism companies and destinations are using the web. We have some amazing projects in our line up this year- including South African company - Wild Earth who stream game drives live to the world via vehicle mounted webcams and provide Twitter updates and interactions with viewers as they go,” said Mr Cook.

The ETF CEO added: “African Travel companies have seen the success of tourist produced online viral videos such as the Battle of Kruger, which has been viewed by over 50 million people, and they are now creating platforms for user generated content, reviews and discussions of their products. The web has really made it easy for small players to use technology, creativity and innovation to make a big connection with global markets. It is critical that tourism companies in across East Africa take advantage of online marketing opportunities. The E Tourism East Africa Conference will show them how”

Also presenting at the summit will be ecologist and author Dr Paula Kahumbu - CEO of Wildlife Direct who have created a blogging platform and social network for conservation projects.  Mr. Kahumbu will also be discussing how Tourism and Conservation can work together online.

Key sponsors of the conference include Kenya Commercial Bank, Safaricom and Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Kenya mobile phone operators in tiff

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 19 - A bitter competition war is unfolding between Kenya’s two largest mobile phone companies - Zain and Safaricom - over the handling of traffic across the two networks.

The dispute started with accusations from Zain that Safaricom was sabotaging its new price deal, by offering limited capacity for cross-network calls coming from the Zain network.

Barely a day after launching the country’s lowest cross network tariff at Sh3 a minute, Zain pointed an accusing finger to Safaricom saying it was ‘abusing dominance’ by not increasing its capacity to receive calls from the Zain network.

Zain even went a step further to write to industry regulator, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) to step in and investigate the matter.

“Our customers are experiencing congestion and call set up issues when they call Safaricom and not when calling Zain. This is purely for the simple reason that our main competitor has been delaying the capacity increase request from our side to accommodate the incremental traffic coming from us after we launched our new offer in the market,” Zain Kenya Managing Director Rene Meza charged in a statement.

Mr Meza said despite having made requests to Safaricom, their competitor had remained uncooperative.

“We simply requested for a swap out of some circuits from the Safaricom to Zain link to the Zain to Safaricom link. In our experience, such a request can be accommodated in a matter of minutes and at no cost. Much to our surprise, we could not get a commitment from Safaricom as to when the configuration would take place,” he said. 

But in quick response, Safaricom faulted Zain for lack of proper planning as it only sent a formal request late on Wednesday.

“We must admit that we are quite surprised by the claims made by Zain that we are trying to stifle the delivery of their traffic to our network. These claims are quite insincere considering that Zain is fully aware of the procedures that all operators must adhere to when seeking to increase their inter-connect traffic capacity,” Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Michael Joseph said.

“Safaricom has now and in the past continued to adhere to the terms of the inter-connect agreements signed with all operators and wishes to urge other operators to do the same. We have always been ethical in the way we conduct our business and our integrity is the greatest pillar of our success in Kenya. We will however not take responsibility for the consequences of poor planning by other operators,” Mr Joseph added.

Safaricom has said it would continue with its “unflinching commitment to integrity” in all its operations including honouring the terms of agreements between it and its competitors.

“We have always been courteous to Zain, even to the extent of accommodating them when they were unable to clear the significant debt that they owed us. This notwithstanding, we shall continue to cooperate with them as guided by the inter-connect agreement and other industry rules. We invite them to engage us within those parameters,” Mr Joseph said.

The Communications Commission of Kenya has lowered interconnection rates from Sh4.42 to Sh2.21, effective September 1st. Zain became the first operator to take advantage of the new rates in an effort of driving up its subscriber base.

Bharti Airtel, the new owners of Zain, have not hidden their desire to clinch market leadership with the International Chief Executive Manoj Kohli even saying, “Bharti Airtel is about leadership. Whichever market we enter, we enter with a clear vision for leadership.”

Bharti aims to flex its muscle in the market with a well spelt out strategy with major focus on the lower-end of the market investing as much as Sh24 billion to upgrade its network.

BY MICHAEL KARANJA