Airtel seeks agents to build mobile money clout

Airtel Kenya is seeking for agents countrywide to boost its retail clout and shore up mobile money transaction volumes.

Airtel Kenya is seeking for agents countrywide to boost its retail clout and shore up mobile money transaction volumes. Photo/FILE 

In Summary

• “Airtel Money Kenya Ltd invites proposals from suitably qualified organisations to build Airtel Money Agency networks through recruitment and management of new agents,” the advert says.
• ‘Lipa Sasa Na Mobi Kash’ targets low income earners, it bridges the high digital divide in Kenya’s cashless economy allowing customers to pay for goods and transact through the service.

By LILIAN OCHIENG'
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Airtel Kenya is seeking for agents countrywide to boost its retail clout and shore up mobile money transaction volumes.

In an advert Tuesday, the telco urged organisations with at least three years’ experience in establishing, managing and growing a distribution network, to submit their proposals for consideration.

“Airtel Money Kenya Ltd invites proposals from suitably qualified organisations to build Airtel Money Agency networks through recruitment and management of new agents,” the advert says.

Airtel begins the recruitment drive just after Communications Authority (CA) released quarterly statistics stating a 3.6 per cent drop in the overall number of mobile money subscriptions.

Telcos currently competing in the sector are; Safaricom through M-Pesa, Airtel through Airtel Money, Finserve through Equitel, Tangaza Pesa, Mobi-Kash and Orange through Orange Money.

Safaricom’s M-Pesa still dominates the market with 96,155 agents and over 19 million subscriptions. Airtel, the second largest telco has 10,534 agents and over 3.6 million subscriptions. By number of subscriptions, Airtel Money falls second after M-Pesa.

Fierce competition

However fierce competition in the sector has seen Equitel which rides on Airtel’s network, experience more transactions at Sh17.9 billion falling second after Safaricom. Airtel on the other hand experienced only Sh4.3 billion.

The telco hopes that recruiting more agents and ensuring excellence in their management will help shore up its value of transactions. Also the agents aim to reach the less penetrated areas of the country.

Mobi- Kash and Equitel lead in coverage for remote areas through their vast agent networks; the former has 16,523 agents countrywide and has gained fame through its ‘Lipa Sasa Na Mobi Kash.’

‘Lipa Sasa Na Mobi Kash’ targets low income earners, it bridges the high digital divide in Kenya’s cashless economy allowing customers to pay for goods and transact through the service.

“We are recruiting more merchants in villages, we target an increase in our agent network by thousands by the end of the year,” said Mr Odipo.

Subscribers are not charged for any transactions made. The system enables them to transact for as low as Sh100 to Sh100,000.

Equitel on the other hand relies on Equity’s vast agent network to reach out to its customers. In 2013, Airtel partnered with Equity Bank to enable its subscribers use the bank’s 7,700 agency networks. The deal has not been so promising to Airtel, hence the need to widen its own network presence.