In a statement issued on Friday, April 3, CEO Peter Ndegwa announced that the telco had rolled out Bonga For Good, an initiative that will see customers use Bonga Points to pay for essential goods and services.
“For the next 30 days, customers will redeem 1 Bonga Point for KES 30 cents, a 50% increase from the previous 20 cents per point, at over 140,000 Lipa na M-PESA merchants countrywide,” the statement reads.
Safaricom further informed that business merchants accepting Lipa Na Bonga will receive a cash equivalent of the points redeemed, in effect, making it a normal business transaction.
Safaricom CEO, Peter Ndegwa.
File
Customers using the Lipa na Bonga service will be allowed to redeem as little as Ksh 1 via the Lipa na Bonga at key merchants across the country, including major supermarkets.
This campaign is a response by the company to the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the biggest being reduced income for the majority of Kenyans.
“We have seen Kenyans lose some or all of their income as a result of this pandemic, making it difficult to meet their needs. This initiative seeks to empower Kenyans to use the points earned from using Safaricom products over the years to pay for their essentials or to donate them to the most vulnerable in the society,” Ndegwa added.
Bonga For Food
According to data from the telco, it currently holds 14.7 billion Bonga Points for customers, with 84% of them being held by high-value customers while the remaining 14% is shared among 67% of the remaining customer base.
With its high-value customers likely to face the lowest economic risk during this Covid-19 pandemic, Safaricom is urging Kenyans to donate Bonga Points to fellow citizens who are most vulnerable.
High-value customers will get a chance to donate to charity through the Bonga For Food initiative. Every time the country has been faced with adversity, Kenyans have coalesced together and pulled each other out of the situation.
By donating Bonga Points to those in need of essentials like food and sanitary products, they can stand a better chance at surviving the negative effects of Covid-19 on their income potential.
“Bonga Points for Good is another opportunity to support our customers and the country at large by providing an alternative option to maintain their livelihoods in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic,” a statement by Safaricom reads.
Safaricom Chief Customer Officer Sylvia Mulinge together with Fawzia Ali – Head of Department Digital Product and Services at the launch of Safaricom postpay having an interview with the media in Nairobi on March 3, 2020
Simon Kiragu
kenyagist.com
How to Lipa na Bonga:
Dial *126#
Select LIPA NA BONGA.
Enter the till number that you would like to make a payment to.
Enter the amount of money you need to pay.
Confirm that you want to spend e.g. 450 Bonga points to make a payment of Ksh 150.
To Donate Bonga Points:
Dial *126#
Select Transfer Bonga points.
Enter phone number to transfer to.
Enter Bonga points Enter Bonga.
PIN Confirm details and send.
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