Something very big happened in Kenya yesterday. Something that will inevitably change many lives over the next few weeks, months and years to come.
Safaricom launched an SMS money transfer service.
The service will initially be available countrywide and soon in East Africa and beyond. For as little as Kshs 55, anybody will now be able to transfer funds to any Safaricom subscriber countrywide. Actually up to Kshs 35,000 at a time.
This dramatically changes the ball game. It means that many business opportunities will suddenly open up to the enterprising and innovative. Many businesses that were unviable before yesterday will suddenly be hot new opportunities for those who can move fast.
It also means that the Postapay service by the Postal Corporation of Kenya is in big trouble. The marketers at the State corporation will now need to urgently reposition their service. Posta officials say the parastatal has been raking in Kshs 16 million daily.
What really promises to make the new service so attractive is the fact that folks can now pick up cash at major Safaricom outlets countrywide, which in effect takes this financial service deep into rural areas where banks have never been seen.
It also means a brand new profit center for Kenya's most profitable company. Actually catching up with Safaricom in terms of profitability will now be a very tall order and probably virtually impossible. Barring the unexpected, it also means that the expected Safaricom IPO will be extra sizzling red hot.
Late Extra
Nation Media group have today launched their brand new business daily titled, Business Daily. The giant newspaper company has decided to use the same colour newsprint used for the world renowned Financial Times of London and the price too clearly reflects the fact that it is not for everybody, retailing at a hefty Kshs 50. I will be reviewing the new business newspaper (actually the first business daily in the region) later. It can be viewed online at www.bdafrica.com
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