It has been 24 years since October 2000, when Kenya’s second mobile telephony company was launched at Carnivore Restaurant under the vision “The Better Option.”
Within months, a mobile subscriber who could not be reached was referred to as a ‘Mteja’, and there had been a number of fights over “That woman on the phone who was using your phone.”
More words would follow; repurposed existing words like sambaza would refer to sharing of any kind, or new ones like fuliza would be used to suggest empty pockets.
More than two decades since the mobile telephony department of the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Company was spun off, revamped and set free to spread its wings, many of the words Safaricom took up have become household names.
As Safaricom begins its twenty-fifth year, Safaricom Newsroom looks back at 20 words, names, and phrases used by Safaricom for its products and services that have now become part of Kenyan lingo.
- Fuliza
‘Niko na fuliza’ is a phrase that one would normally use when you are trying to send them money before they proceed to give you an alternative number to use. Launched in 2019, Fuliza is a continuous overdraft service that allows Safaricom’s M-PESA customers to complete their M-PESA transactions even when they do not have enough funds. Now, it has come to be used as a word for taking any kind of loan.
- Okoa Jahazi
When you run out of airtime, Okoa Jahazi saves the day. This service allows Safaricom subscribers who meet the eligibility criteria to request advance airtime. To ‘Okoa’ now means to come through for someone in need.
- Bamba 20
Back in the day, when one needed airtime, they would have to physically walk to the nearest shop to purchase it. The least amount of airtime one could buy at the time was KES 50. However, Safaricom came through for its customers in 2018 when it launched the Bamba 20 scratch card, which became the most affordable airtime in Kenya. A Bamba 20 has since come to refer to a young person, specifically a young lady.
- Simu ya Jamii
One of Safaricom’s first products, Simu ya Jamii, was a community phone used by those who could not afford a mobile at the time. Simu ya Jamii now refers to anything communal.
- Pochi la Biashara
This is a product that allows informal business owners like food vendors, boda-boda operators, and second-hand clothes dealers to receive and separate business funds from personal funds on their M-PESA line. Even matatu conductors now ask passengers to send their fare to a Pochi number that they provide. This word has now become a colloquial euphemism in Kenyan slang.
- Mteja
The most probable response you will hear when someone unsuccessfully tries to get in touch with a friend or loved one on the phone and they are unavailable is, ‘Ako mteja’. This has been made popular by the famous ‘Mteja wa nambari unayopiga hapatikani kwa sasa’ recorded message that one hears when a mobile phone is switched off or out of network range. Being mteja refers to being unavailable or unreachable.
- M-PESA
This service has changed lives. It changed how businesses operate. It made transactions easier and seamless during COVID-19, a period that called for no contact and isolation. M-PESA is a mobile phone-based money transfer service, payments and micro-financing service launched in 2007 by Vodafone and Safaricom. It is a verb that refers to sending money: “Ebu M-PESA me a quick 2k”.
- Credo
‘Uko na credo unipigie?’ Airtime is the credit that allows a mobile phone to function, including making calls, sending texts, and using data. Kenyans rarely refer to airtime but instead say, Credo’, a corruption of the word credit.
- Flashing
Your phone will light up just once to alert you that someone is trying to reach you if they do not have airtime. Flashing refers to the act of calling someone and hanging up after one ring. The person flashing has no intention of using their airtime or does not have enough airtime to sustain a conversation. However, Safaricom now has ‘Please Call Me’ and ‘Reverse Call’ services that enable a customer to request other customers for a callback.
- Beeping
Originally, this was the alternative term for flashing, but beeping has evolved to refer to a way of exchanging numbers where one person shares their number and asks the other person to beep them, that is, call with no intention of picking but rather so that they can save the number.
- Sambaza
Sambaza began as Safaricom’s name for the mechanism of sending airtime credit from one mobile phone to another. The word has morphed to refer to sharing anything, and it is featured in the Oxford Dictionary. If you are a commuter who frequently uses the 14-seater Nissans for transportation, you’ll be familiar with Sambaza as the word that now refers to the wooden plank used as a seat for the extra passengers.
- Niko na Safaricom
The Niko na Safaricom television commercial was shot when Safaricom was celebrating its 10th anniversary, and Kenyans hold it near and dear. It captured the hearts and minds of Kenyans as a celebration of our Kenyanness. The ‘Niko na’ advert is now the SI Unit’s reference point in the marketing and advertising world of Kenyan cinematic and thematic advertising.
- Bonga points
If you are in a fix, you can redeem Bonga points to pay for most goods and services. This is a loyalty scheme that lets Safaricom subscribers earn points once registered on the programme. You earn 1 Bonga point for every KES 10 spent on voice calls, SMS, or data. Now, Bonga points refer to the goodwill one gets from doing a good or commendable deed.
- Peculiar Kenyans
Wondering why all Kenyans decided to call at the same time on Friday evening, thus congesting the network, the first Safaricom CEO, Michael Joseph, concluded that ‘Kenyans have peculiar calling habits’. There was uproar, but upon reflection, Kenyans accepted that they are indeed peculiar. ‘Peculiar Kenyan’ is also the title of a book by Sunny Bindra, Kenya’s renowned author and business adviser that illustrates all that is “peculiar” about Kenyans.
- M-Vitus
Taking a cue from M-PESA, the majority of Kenyan techies name their innovations starting with the letter “m”. In the tech world, M-Vitus now refers to any Kenyan mobile-centric innovation.
- BLAZEBLAZE was targeted at the 18-26 demographic, offering them access to a specialised Safaricom platform that included custom-made tariffs and product offerings. Even with the launch of S-Hook (Safaricom Hook), which is targeted at even younger subscribers, BLAZE is still the shortcode for the offerings for young people.
- SKIZA
Safaricom created SKIZA to provide a platform for Kenyan musicians to sell their music and offer them a chance to reach the company’s subscribers. SKIZA tune now generally refers to any caller ring-back tone service that lets you personalise what callers hear when they call you.
- Kabambe
Made popular by the Nokia 1100, which was the entry-level phone during the early days of Safaricom, Kabambe now refers to all feature phones. Popular due to their long-lasting battery, hardiness, and portability, the phone, also referred to as ‘Mulika Mwizi’ or ‘Katululu’, is suitable for those who are on the phone a lot and have no access to electricity for constant charging. In a bid to get most Kenyans to go digital, Safaricom introduced affordable 4G phones in a campaign dubbed Mwelekeo Ni Internet.
- Network
“Sasa nimeshika network” or “Nilikuwa nimetupa network” are commonly used in Kenyan-speak. Network is thereby a reference for understanding something. It is derived from the network in telecommunication which refers to ‘transmission systems enabling information to be transmitted between various different sites by means of electromagnetic or optical signals.’
- M-Shwari
Launched in 2013 through a collaboration between NCBA and Safaricom, M-Shwari enables M-PESA customers in Kenya to access interest-bearing savings accounts and take out small loans. M-Shwari has cultivated a savings culture among Kenyans, and the ‘52 Week Savings Challenge’, which spans 52 weeks from January to December, is now highly popular.
