This archive report was first published on 22 June 2020.
On May 29, 2020, Safaricom introduced a new product allowing customers to access newspapers at KES. 20 daily. The service, which required no registration or app download, allowed customers to access newspapers through 550# or safaricom.com.
The initial lineup of newspapers included Standard Group Media's The Standard, Saturday Standard, Sunday Standard, and The Nairobian, as well as Nation Media Group's Daily Nation, Saturday Nation, Sunday Nation, and The Business Daily.
However, newspapers from Radio Africa and Mediamax were missing from the initial lineup. That changed on June 22, 2020, when Safaricom announced that The Star newspapers from Radio Africa and People Daily newspapers from Mediamax would now be available on the platform for just KES. 10 daily.
“Radio Africa Group is excited to have Safaricom as our first local digital distribution partner,” said Patrick Quarcoo, CEO, Radio Africa Group. “We look forward to offering Safaricom’s customers unique value adds with our extraordinary and exclusive breaking news and insights from The Star newspaper’s extensive countrywide network of award-winning journalists and analysts. For our Safaricom launch, we are giving a 50% special offer.”
“We are proud to be the pioneers in the provision of a free daily newspaper in Kenya,” said Ken Ngaruiya, CEO, Mediamax. “Even though our free distribution is reaching to over 3.5 million Kenyans daily, we are excited to be a part of this platform that will significantly increase the reach of our newspaper. Indeed, more Kenyans will get more informed and entertained at the comfort of their mobile phones.”
“Kenyans like to be in the know, and we are using technology to provide them access to news at their fingertips through the digital newspapers,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom. “We are continuously working with partners to enrich the portal with more publications so that we have something for everyone.”
