Kenya’s mobile phone revolution brings 2-way email and online chat to 1 in 3 Kenyans
Over 15 million mobile phone subscribers in Kenya – over a third of the country’s population – will now be able to access email and online chat regardless of the make and model of their mobile phone. All standard phones with the ability to SMS are being transformed with the new Kipokezi service bringing low-cost email and chat within the reach of millions of Kenyans, improving communications with their friends and families, both at home and abroad
Standard phones now transformed
All standard phones with the ability to SMS are being transformed with the new Kipokezi service bringing low-cost email and chat within the reach of millions of Kenyans, improving communications with their friends and families, both at home and abroad.
Safaricom Kenya’s largest telecoms operator
The new Kipokezi service is being rolled out by Kenya’s largest telecoms operator, Safaricom, suppliers of mobile phone connectivity for almost 9 in 10 Kenyan mobile phone subscribers. The service will be available to Safaricom’s entire subscriber base and is uses ForgetMeNot Africa’s, eTXT technology a unified messaging systems for telecommunications operators.
Safaricom CEO, Michael Joseph, said:
“This service packs great value to our customers. They will be able to handle their business online, check mail, find information, chat and keep in touch from wherever they are in a fast and cost-efficient manner. The price of internet-ready phones has kept many Kenyans off the web, a trend we are determined to change. This innovation is also at one with our constant strategy of increasing the utility of the mobile phone and expanding the reach of our data product.”
Low cost email and chat including MSN, Yahoo and Gtalk
Kipokezi enables Safaricom to place low-cost email and chat within the reach of millions of Kenyans but especially serves the technically-literate youth of Kenya, who are already very familiar with email and chat. Kipokezi is particularly attractive to young “early adopters” because it gives them a considerably cheaper and more convenient way of accessing email and chat compared to a standard Internet connection and without the need for data plans or handset upgrades.
What’s more, the service incorporates popular chat services such as MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, Windows Live and Gtalk so that users can send and receive messages and invitations globally.
No internet needed just a handset
ForgetMeNot Africa’s unique Handset Initiation (HI) technology bypasses the need for Internet access and the latest handsets to offer an email service to all mobile phone users, even those in the remotest of areas.
ForgetMeNot Africa’s Chief Operating Officer, Jeremy George said:
“Almost four years ago, Safaricom revolutionised money transfer and storage in Kenya with the launch of its mobile money service enabling users to send, store and receive money through their mobile phones. Today they are giving all Kenyans the opportunity to bridge the rural-urban digital divide by giving them cheap access to chat and email services on standard mobile phones, without the need for an Internet connection, data plans or expensive handsets.”
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Tags: FMNA, FMNA service launch, ForgetMeNot Africa, Kenya, Kipokezi, Safaricom
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