[kictanet] "Talk to Safaricom" Responses to Day 3 Questions

Fri Feb 17 13:30:31 EAT 2017

From: Stephen Chege
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 17:56
To: 'KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions'
Cc: 'Grace Githaiga'
Subject: "Talk to Safaricom" Responses to Day 2 Questions

Dear all

Below are the responses to Day 3 Questions.  Apologies, I was not able to send these yesterday.

regards

Steve

Talk-2-Safaricom, Day 3 of 6 (Wednesday) :-Innovators, Innovations & Suppliers
Guideline: Safaricom has been quite innovative and keeps coming up with new ways of doing things. As an innovator/developer/supplier, tell us your experiences with regard to Safaricom Innovation as well as their procurement ecosystem.

a) Is their development platform and application programmable interface (API) sufficiently open?
b) Are the issues to do with Intellectual property /Patents/Procurement clear and adequate?
c) Whereas the gain-sharing agreements are private and confidential, how can they be made better?
d) What is Safcom take on Bitcoin/Blockchain technologies?

Questions+Comments from Discussions:

Luke Okelo

Good morning all. Thank you Mr.Walubengo for the good moderation so far much appreciated  My question is what is the number of annual incidences/cases reported involving mpesa fraud? And are they ever resolved successfully?

Secondly If I am carjacked in a matatu as often happens to passengers here, can Safaricom introduce a red flag system where I can discreetly notify relevant authorities that I am withdrawing from my mpesa account under duress?  That is to say a silent alarm to raise awareness that there is a crime taking place, and maybe even remotely use my phone GPS location service so that I can be tracked and the culprits apprehended in the act?

Blocking the mpesa account at such a sensitive time may not be too wise as the thieves may end a victim's life accusing him/her of non-cooperation  Thank you kindly

Luke, the different types of fraud that you see across the M-PESA platform ranging from social engineering to outright theft are viewed as crimes, and so these matters are referred to the Police. Safaricom is able to support with investigations where necessary. As ICT practitioners, we are aware that many of the new threats to security will come via these which platforms which we increasingly interact with every day. On our part we continuously educate customers and agents at regular intervals on the emerging threats so that they can protect themselves. Law enforcement personnel should also be trained to deal with and be able to prosecute crimes in this area.

K.Machuchi
Good coverage. Can we fit in Safaricom's attitude/ policy towards its existing and prospective suppliers.
a) existing: payment for goods/ services provided.
b) respect for supplier IP and remedies in case of breach by staff.
c) prospective: artificial barriers and how they can eliminate/ minimize corruption in procurement.

We are committed to growing Kenyan businesses and offer preferential support to innovative local businesses. We also invest heavily in building local expertise in the critical mobile sector – and this includes everything from partnering with local universities to create the relevant curriculum to deliver ready for market engineers to enabling the growth of the small business owner.
We currently work with 830 local companies who form 84 percent of our supply chain.
We have many examples, but companies such as Linksoft, Broadband Communications, Netsol and Adrian (who started literally from scratch years ago) have now grown on the back of Safaricom’s business to become multi-nationals operating across several countries in East and West Africa.
In 2015 we commissioned KPMG South Africa to undertake a “True Value Study” i.e. to examine the true impact of Safaricom in Kenya’s economy. This study found that the value that Safaricom created for the Kenyan society in one year (2015) was estimated at around 10 times greater than the actual financial profit the company made in the same period. This was measured in actual impact on small Kenyan businesses who now exist solely because of Safaricom.
At Safaricom we have an open invitation to any supplier who wants to be considered for business with us in a relevant areas. That is why we have published on our website, comprehensive information on how to do business with us. In addition, the applications for pre-qualification are all done online on a robust platform which has automated much of the evaluation and scoring with a fully auditable document trail.  See  http://www.safaricom.co.ke/about-us/suppliers.
We absolutely will not work with any companies that have known track records for unethical behavior, nor do we participate in such behavior on our part.

Mildred Achoch

Good morning everyone, Thank you to the KICTANET moderators and Safaricom for this opportunity to engage.

First, I would like to echo Grace B's sentiments. Thank you Safaricom for being in almost every part of Kenya. It goes a long way in assuring me that you guys will be around for a long time. Secondly, kudos for being one of the first companies in Kenya to embrace the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the goals)

Regarding the fact that you are in almost every part of Kenya, my question is: is there a way you can partner with Kenyan filmmakers to promote Kenyan films and series/web series? I applaud innovative initiatives such as Skiza tunes and Blaze. These say to me that similar initiatives can be implemented to promote Kenyan filmmakers. Media convergence is already here with us; as a market leader, Safaricom should be at the forefront of innovative initiatives related to this.
Stephen Njoroge

Mildred, this is an important area of focus for Safaricom as we focus on growing our youth and their talents. The creative economy is one of the fastest growing incorporating music, dance, film and other creative works. The question on film makers is particularly interesting to us as they produce content which Safaricom can make available to our customers in the same way we provide Skiza tunes. Specifically, for film content we require a broadcasting licence from CA. Safaricom has identified this opportunity and in February 2015 we put in an application for broadcasting licence to enable us to carry this kind of content. In August 2015, our application was published in the Kenya Gazette. However to date Safaricom has not received this licence from the Communication Authority. The last we heard from the Communications Authority was in in October 2016 when we were informed that they could not give us the licence until the Dominance Report was released, although this came a year after our application.

Nonetheless we want to play in this space as we have a good understanding of what the market wants, we are willing to invest in a platform that can allow consumers to access short-form or even full length films on-the-go for content producers and do our part for the creative economy. But for now we are waiting to hear from CA. We believe the Kenyan market is ready for fully converged multimedia services and we look forward to providing this to our customers and creating this new market for Kenyans content producers.

Stephen Njoroge

Hi John and Listers

a)      Is their development platform and application programmable interface (API) sufficiently open?

ANS:

NO!. compared to what is the standard with the like offacebook to have a developers portal (https://developers.facebook.com<https://developers.facebook.com/>) and Equity/Equitelportal very easy to use (https://developers.equitybankgroup.com/apis)and https://developer.pesapal.com/ etcsafaricom<https://developer.pesapal.com/%C2%A0etcsafaricom> does not have this well  documented and you have to make a number ofguess emails most often to the wrong department or person, Something that couldtake hours ends up taking weeks and sometime months. One get the impressionthat safaricom is under staffed or the staff are just ignoring your email butit not that bad this days I was give a call account manager that is quitehelpful sometime I don’t  need to email Ijust call her up.. and things are done.. I think she got the job because of her voice.

Stephen, with regard to our API framework I mentioned that we are aware that it is not working as well as it can and that we have already taken steps to rectify this with the help of a world class vendor. We expect that the new API framework will be ready in the coming months. If you are agreeable I would be happy to propose you to “test-drive” the new API. Let me know.

b)      Are the issues to do with Intellectual property/Patents/Procurement clear and adequate?

ANS: Lot of grey line in this but safaricom based competition is very clear on this outlining ownership and all.

I am not clear on what the question is here but I will state that Safaricom recognises that good implementable ideas are rare to find and should therefore be protected by their owners. We have provided this and other help to Innovators in our innovation Portal and continue to engage with developers on this basis.

c)       Whereas the gain-sharing agreements are private and confidential, how can they be made better?

ANS: I think safaricom is NOT in the business of sealing ideas but Most employees being Kenyan have a keen eye on opportunities.. other employees have vested  interest in competing businesses and will lock you up new idea to be launched where they can eat from..I think having applications to be view-able by more than one employee in the business would help but I would recommend you pray very very hard and if possible fast for 40 days before sharing with this guys in private

I believe that this is covered above through the zero tolerance policy we have towards infringement.

d)      What is Safcom take on Bitcoin/Blockchain technologies?

ANS: If bitcoin gained high traction that I would be in a position to purchase sukuma from the kibanda via bitcoin other operators would come toraise at the expense of the home currency just as we don’t trade in gold andgold is represented in reserve via the currency notes, we would trade inbitcoin represented in Kenya currency.. I don’t see M-Pesa in the Picture pastthe currency loading yet they want you to Lipa Na M-Pesa kokote.. but may be amother thinking.. To answer the question Safaricom is more some reason againstbitcoin and has show this by not supporting bitcoin based startups
Stephen, regarding Blockchain; the underlying technology behind BitCoin and other cryptocurrencies promises many interesting opportunities where trust is a premium, consensus desired and privacy a must.  The distributed ledger could radically alter transaction flows, potentially eliminating intermediaries and reducing or reassigning costs. Without clear, mainstream support from regulators/authorities, it is difficult to see how BlockChain will deliver its full potential.  Safaricom continues to monitor this technology and if supported by regulatory approvals, will consider to implement it where it is feasible.

Specifically on BitCoin; I think the use of BitCoin or other cryptocurrencies is a much more complex and possibly riskier proposition. For Safaricom, being a licensed mobile money operator, we are unable to experiment with our customers’ money and ignore the clear direction given by our regulator the Central Bank of Kenya (https://www.centralbank.go.ke/uploads/banking_circulars/2075994161_Banking%20Circular%20No%2014%20of%202015%20-%20Virtual%20Currencies%20-%20Bitcoin.pdf).  The use of any unregulated, unmanaged, alternative currencies does not come without significant risks.  The brief history of BitCoin is a clear example of this.  According to Forbes, the past six years has seen 48% of BitCoin exchanges fail, some with enormous losses for customers.  It is likely that the use of cryptocurrencies will, in the future become more stable and receive regulatory approval at which point Safaricom will be a ready adopter.

Ahmed Mohamed Maawy
I will ask 2 questions as a Solutions Architect myself:
1)- As a solutions developer, Safaricom does not provide its platform    openly to allow 3rd party integration as does other service providers. And   even if some lucky 3rd party do it, the flexibility to implement the    solution to meet a diverse set of needs is quite limiting. Somehow makes a    lot of us feel as if the payment solution is a "premium access" product    available to specific players.
The Safaricom API is not a convenient way    out of it. Bootsrapping a solution around the API itself requires dedicated   develper(s). For instance, stripe payments makes payment gateway    integration part of the process not a separate development process.
Where is the guarantee (legally binding) also that I can deploy freely a solution based on your payment platform without it being replicated?
Thanks Ahmed. Please see my previous responses regarding our API and the planned redevelopments. In addition, let me know if you would like to take be part of the team to review it before we launch.
Walu J

@Ahmed, Do you mind clarifying a few things.   I take it that you agree that Safcoms APIs are not too open.  Particularly the payment solution.  I presume that would be the MPESA platform which seems limited or restricted to some chosen few developers.  Further you say that solutions built around the MPESA  APIs are not scaleable to other domains and you seem to suggest a better option out of this. What would this option be? Are you suggesting that rather than trying to plug into MPESA through APIs, MPESA should be released and sold as a module that developers can plug into just about anything they need to  - and pay royalties to Safcom on per use basis?

Walu, Please see my previous responses regarding our API and the planned redevelopments. The initial design was not as good as we expected it to be and to be clear it was not designed to be closed or to make it difficult for developers to work with. This is counterintuitive as we would want M-PESA to be embedded in as many services as possible. The redevelopment I have mentioned here is going to smooth out those issues and help it become an easy to use interface that it should be.

Ahmed Mohamed Maawy

Firstly, M-Pesa is definitely being hailed as a global disruptive innovation. This means one thing only. It needs to act so.  My response will be simple. This is where I expected M-Pesa would be today with an open all inclusive model: https://stripe.com/
Ahmed your comment is well noted.

Grace Bomu

Maybe we should ask the question, what is Safaricom's innovation model? Does it see itself as providing a platform for others to play and (hopefully create solutions) or is Safaricom also a player in the game or a hybrid? I would hope that Safaricom envisions itself providing a space for limitless innovation especially for social good. To arts and culture, I admire the work that Safaricom has done- from the beautiful calendars and adverts to music festivals. I however cringe when there are disputes involving the company and artistes and I hope that the issue of revenue sharing has been resolved. Has it been resolved? I wonder if Safaricom has exploited use of tech and its platforms in this cause. I echo Mildred's plea.

You’re right Grace, Safaricom is both an innovator and co-innovates with others. In fact we increasingly describe ourselves as a platform. We see the company as being an enabler of several solutions that can transform lives across a growing number of industries such as the health sector, education, agriculture and financial services. We aim to provide these solutions in partnerships with others – we recognise that we do not have all the answers and these cross-industry pairings can drive more transformation than if each decided to go it alone. So expect more from us on that front.

To your question on artists and royalties – this is an issue I take personal interest in. Safaricom has been one of the biggest corporate sponsors of Kenyan arts, having been involved in various music events over the years including Niko Na Safaricom Live, Safaricom Classical Fusion, Groove With Safaricom, Safaricom Youth Orchestra, Safaricom Choir and the Safaricom International Jazz Festival.

Out of a desire to see local artists grow and earn from their craft we launched the digital music platform SKIZA in 2009. SKIZA is a ring-back tone service that allows your callers to listen to selected tunes from your favourite artists. The SKIZA platform is run by Safaricom, but the day-to-day management of the content is done by known as Content Service Providers (CSPs) who are licensed by the Communications Authority. For artists to put up their music for sale on SKIZA, they have to go through these providers, who review the content to ensure it meets our guidelines before listing it in our database.

As I’m sure many of you are already aware, 2015 and 2016 were a bit challenging for us, as a result of multiple court cases and injunctions that forced us to hold back over KES 152 million in artists’ royalties while we waited for a resolution to the dispute between the CSPs and the Collective Management Organisations (CMOs), which include the Performers’ Rights Society of Kenya, Music Copyright Society of Kenya and Kenya Association of Music Producers. Though the issue was eventually resolved and the monies paid out, what we would like to see is a more unified approach to growing the industry.

I could say more, but let me leave it there for now.

John Kieti
Good afternoon, My take on Safaricom and the innovation ecosystem / community is that although they have evolved slowly, Safaricom has contributed significantly and positively to our collective innovativeness as an economy. That we have moved beyond demanding an API for Mpesa and now we are talking about the API's openness is progress.
That Safaricom's Spark Fund has invested in Sendy and other startups is laudable. That Safaricom entered useful partnerships with for likes of iCow, EnezaEducation, and Craft Silicon (Little Cabs), Mledger (acquisition) and many other startups must not be downplayed. That Safaricom gave free bandwidth to iHub for several years  and sponsored activities at iLabAfrica is laudable.  That said, I would wish Safaricom embraced open innovation and co-entrepreneurship more.
For instance it was quite short sighted the way Safaricom flexed its muscle on Kipochi / Kopokopo, and BitPesa / Lipisha Consortium with regard to the BitCoin gateway for M-Pesa top ups and withdrawals. If I were them, I would embrace these startups and others building on block chain technology to further disrupt the Financial Services sector.
It does not make sense for Safaricom / Mpesa to embrace the plastic card technology side of FinTech as they are doing with the M-Pesa card while frustrating the block-chain side.  By and large let us give credit where its due. Safaricom has truly pushed the limits of innovation to increase value for its shareholders who include our Government.

They just need to do more to figure out an ecosystem / collaborative approach to innovation. If they do that, we shall collectively and successfully attack the global marketplace for gains to our national economy.  Just my 20 cents.
Thank you John, your comments are well noted. With regard to the M-PESA plastic card; we have done research on this and we think it might be useful in some areas of the economy which we plan to explore. We will still continue to innovate and develop around the mobile device as our primary outlet.

Ali Hussein
Walu  Thank you for keeping this conversation going.  This in my humble opinion is where Safaricom scores a D- for me.  There has been alot of (albeit unsubstantiated) complaints from the Startup Ecosystem of how difficult it is to work with Safaricom when it comes to:-

1. APIs and Integrations with other players especially when it comes to MPesa. There are even cases where people have claimed that Safaricom has acted like a Big Bully. Again unsubstantiated. This is obviously a case of where Safaricom needs to be very cognizant of the role they play in uplifting the Innovation Ecosystem in Kenya and Africa.  Did Safaricom hound BitPesa out of Kenya? <http://www.coindesk.com/safaricom-and-bitpesa/>

Ali, regarding the API I have given our position in previous responses above and before. The message has come through loud and clear and we are working to fix it.

Did Safaricom hound BitPesa out of Kenya? <http://www.coindesk.com/safaricom-and-bitpesa/>

Ali, this matter is in court with Safaricom having been sued by Bitpesa and as such I may not be able to say much. I can however say that Safaricom’s decision not to allow encashment of cryptocurrencies through our M-PESA network is based on guidance by the Central Bank of Kenya which we believe applies to all financial institutions. As a CBK licensee we cannot disregard guidance from our Regulator hence our position. (http://www.nation.co.ke/business/CBK-warns-against-use-of-Bitcoin/996-2997584-wg76bn/index.html , http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Central-Bank-of-Kenya-warns-of-Bitcoin-risks/2560-2997640-11n5k5gz/index.html )

2. Its an accepted fact that working with the MPesa API is not a walk in the park. They need to be take a CrowdSourcing Approach to this. To be fair this has improved tremendously in the last few months. However, I believe there's room for improvement.
Ali, regarding the API I have given our position in previous responses above and before. The message has come through loud and clear and we are working to fix it.

3. Regulation. Its a fact of business today that Regulation and Compliance can be a major hindrance to innovation. A case in point is the burgeoning FinTech Space in Nairobi. How can Safaricom help startups navigate this area?  4.  What is the long term strategy for MPesa?
Kenya is renowned the world over for innovation in this space and we should be grateful for the regulatory space that we developers enjoy in this country compared to others. Having said that the financial services space necessarily has boundaries and compliance requirements given its sensitivity. We have a comprehensive hand holding process for our partners that includes helping them navigate the regulatory landscape. Our Ready Business<http://www.safaricom.co.ke/readybusiness/> initiative seeks to do the same for small businesses across industries.
Our long-term strategy for M-PESA is to ensure that it continues to evolve and remain relevant to Kenyans. As you may have noticed, we have started exploring the P2B space. Given that 8 out of ten transactions in Kenya are still made in cash, there’s a lot of room for a number of providers (and us) to grasp the mobile money opportunity.

Barrack Otieno
Hi Walu,  Before the branch closes:
1. Does Safaricom support the TIVET Program or any Village Polytechnics which train most of our Crafts Men upcountry?, would be keen to know what kind of support they extend to this Village Innovation Centres.  Best Regards
Through the Safaricom Foundation we have provided computers for some youth polytechnics around the country, in partnership with Computers for Schools Kenya.  These devices aimed to support their drive around digitalizing learning in youth polytechnics. We are considering exploring more opportunities through our youth platform, Blaze.

Timothy Oriedo
On innovation; I would wish to know how I can access anonymised cell phone location sensor data platform of all safaricom subscribers that will enable building of a recommendation engine to benefit various industries.
Safaricom is sitting on a potential natural resource that if opened up can benefit different industries from transport,  security, health care , education, environment etcetra  Think of an intelligent service that can inform the traffic department that there is a noticeable surge of cellphone signals approaching town from a particular direction say Limuru -Westlands and the traffic lights proportionally allow more vehicles from that direction to pass through. ...wouldn't it be a step ahead in solving our ever present traffic menace?
Timothy, I think you are referring to the potential of big-data that we may have accreted based on customer information. To be clear, access to customer information is controlled by law and under our licence both of which obligate to keep that information confidential. Beyond that I believe you are touching on the use of anonymised data records for development initiatives. This is an area that I believe should be discussed robustly and if viable, relevant legislation passed to enable different organisations with useful data to be able to apply this to different uses while affording the source of this information the necessary legal safeguards.

John Kieti

With "Mobile" contributing about 11% of South Korea's GDP (read Samsung), it is hard to fto resist the temptation to dream about "Mobile" contributing as much as 20% of Kenya's GDP by 2027. Such a dream appears achievable if Safaricom assumes the role of an anchor and sets itself up for more rapid co-innovation with local entrepreneurs and innovators.  Best!

Thanks John. This is well noted.

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