Zain Kenya Launches Community Payphone

­Zain Kenya has launched a community payphone initiative to provide self-help groups all over the country with payphone handsets. The initiative is aimed at empowering women and the youth by giving them an opportunity to trade with Zain products and services through provision of payphone handsets and start up capital of KES1,000 in each handset.

Over 600 payphones will be distributed country wide in partnership with Global Text Africa an organisation that has a strong network with the organized women and youth groups because of their regular interactions with micro finance institutions and NGOs.

Zain's Kenya Corporate Communications Director Michael Okwiri said: "Our main aim is to transforming the lives of our customers by providing quality service but at the same time we would like to play a role in improving their economic lives. We are positioning women as the entry point for the empowerment of the family. But we realize that, apart from communication, women have other needs that must be addressed for them to lead better lives"

Zain is also looking into partnerships with micro finance organisations will involve capacity building in women entrepreneurs in order to equip them with knowledge that will help them in identifying their current strengths and potential. The partnerships are expected to not only expand Zain's customer base but also reach the un-banked populace by providing them with Zain's mobile banking service, Zap.

Zain Expands Zap Service in East Africa

Zain has announced an upgrade to its mobile banking service, Zap to enable customers to receive money from any bank account around the world and send money to any bank in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Dr. Saad Al Barrak, Zain Group's Chief Executive Officer said: "This enhancement of Zap is another world first from Zain. It means that our customers in remote towns and villages as well as those in the cities can receive money from wherever in the world their business colleagues or family and friends are. Ability to send money from the mobile phone to any bank account in East Africa will enable businesses to perform more efficiently."

The service has been used by more than 5 million people since it was launched.

Zain customers can sign-up for free for the new Zap services by completing an application form and handing it over to registered Zain agents in tens of thousands of villages, towns and cities across East Africa. Zain will then provide the customer with a mobile wallet, which will allow them to use their mobile phone in much the same way as a bank account debit card and manage their money through their handset.

Zain and its international and regional banking partners are confident that Zap will increase access to banking services in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, where formal banking services are largely restricted to urban populations. Eighty per cent of Kenya's and ninety-five per cent of Tanzania's and Uganda's populations do not have currently have access to banking services.

Currently over US$10 million worth of airtime transfers take place in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda each month.

Standard Chartered Bank's Head of Consumer Banking, East Africa, Kariuki Ngari said, "This service will enable families and businesses to access funds from around the world very swiftly and very securely. It has the potential to transform banking in Africa and will help overcome many of the obstacles presented by providing banking services to remote and rural communities who are now able to access global funds swiftly."