Select TECNO and itel Smartphones added to Safaricom’s Lipa Mdogo Mdogo smartphone financing plan
At the launch of its Mwelekeo Ni Internet campaign in November, Kenya’s leading telco Safaricom said it will be adding new smartphones to its Lipa Mdogo Mdogo plan to give customers more options.
Lipa Mdogo Mdogo is a smartphone financing plan that allows Safaricom customers to purchase new devices and pay in instalments. It is meant to upgrade Safaricom’s 2G customer base, which accounts for most of the telco’s subscribers, to 4G.
When the plan went live only the company’s Neon Ray 4G phones were available and now Safaricom is adding more devices through a partnership with Google and Transsion, the company behind TECNO, Infinix and itel smartphones.
In addition to the Neon Ray Pro, customers can now choose from three additional devices including itel A24, TECNO Spark 7 and TECNO CAMON 17. The devices are available at all Safaricom Shops and dealer outlets with a deposit of Ksh 500, Ksh 3,000, and Ksh. 5,000 respectively, with the balance payable via flexible daily, weekly, or monthly instalments.
“Lipa Mdogo Mdogo has seen over 500,000 Kenyans upgrade from 2G devices to quality and affordable 4G smartphones. Through this partnership, we seek to meet the varying needs of our customers by increasing the selection of devices available under the world-first device-financing plan,” said Peter Ndegwa, Safaricom CEO.
Ray Fang, Country Manager, Transsion Kenya said the new partnership with Safaricom is is in line with their goals as Transsion in the emerging markets. ”We are a key stakeholder in digital disruption, and we continue coming up with new ways to transform lives through inclusivity across all consumer spectrums and ensure smartphone penetration all over the country. We want Kenyans to have internet accessibility through quality devices that meet their evolving needs and expectations,” he said.
Lipa Mdogo Mdogo is delivered in partnership with Android, Google’s operating system for internet enabled devices. All the 4G devices on offer are loaded with a suite of Google Apps designed to give users a great smartphone experience and come with 1 GB free data at the point of purchase, and 50MB valid for 24 hours with every installment payment.
“Android’s goal has always been to democratize access by bringing the power of computing to everyone. The uptake of Lipa Mdogo Mdogo since it’s launch in 2020 is proof that affordability continues to be a key barrier of entry into the digital world. We are pleased to extend this partnership to enable more Safaricom users to take advantage of the opportunities that exist online,” said Mariam Abdullahi, Director, Android Platforms Partnerships, Africa.
To acquire a device, customers can visit any Safaricom Shop or dealer outlet, or dial *544# and select option 8 – Lipa Mdogo Mdogo.
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