Innovation is at the heart of Safaricom as it seeks to meet the ever-evolving needs of customers and adapt to the seismic changes in society driven by technology.
From the world-renowned M-PESA launched 18 years ago and which has revolutionised mobile money globally, to the Zuri chatbot assistant that come into the market in 2018 and led the telco’s foray into Artificial Intelligence way before AI was a buzzword, Safaricom has been technologically avant-garde.
The Safaricom Innovation Centre at the newly constructed and world-class Safaricom Data Centre in Limuru adds to its spirit of innovation by building upon the Research and Development Lab commissioned in 2017.
People are the driving force for any organisation and as Safaricom aims to be Africa’s leading purpose-led technology company by 2030, its staff need to be future-ready, believe in the vision and work collaboratively.
Annette Wanjiru, who works in the Cyber Security team gives an insight of what it is like to innovate at the aspiring tech-co, “Safaricom is the best place for a techie, because you are exposed to the entire range of what you can do with technology. There are no limits. It’s like an open canvas and you are constantly challenged to come up with ideas.”
Annette is looking forward to the upcoming Kenyan edition of the 2025 Vodacom Hackfest where her and her teammates will showcase an idea of a Kenyan cybersecurity solution that is centered on local insights.
In the HackFest, 25 Kenyan teams will battle it out in four categories: Customer, Growth, Simplicity and Purpose. One winner per category will then represent Team Kenya at the African competition in South Africa for a chance to participate at the global level.
Prince Irungu, a Project Engineer, has been carving out time in his free time alongside his teammates to fine-tune their idea of how small-scale farmers can tap into the carbon credit market.
In recent weeks, Prince and Annette have been enjoying the serenity and good vibes at the Innovation Centre as they participate in Innovation Fridays which are a build up for the 2025 Hackfest.
In 2022, a group of interns came up with the idea of a standing order on a mobile phone to pay for monthly payments through mobile money. The interns won that year’s hackathon, got a chance to benchmark at a global level and eventually had the privilege of seeing their idea go to market in 2024 as M-Ratiba.
Andrew Masila heads innovation at Safaricom and together with Nicole Nzoka as Project Manager, brough to life the vibrant Innovation Centre in Limuru.
Andrew explains that at the core of the colourful space is the Safaricom customer, “It’s a space where we can rapidly test solutions before, they go out to customers, to ensure they are safe for customers, but also that they are solving real customer problems and problems in the future. The setup was meant to encourage creativity, to create disruptive yet beneficial, impactful thinking.”
