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Kenya: Press Releases: Safaricom and Kenya Bankers Association in Data Provision Deal |
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Wednesday, 13 April 2011 |
Nairobi, 13 April 2011...Converged telecommunications company Safaricom has entered into a partnership with the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) that to provide converged data services to banks in Kenya. Through its Enterprise Business Unit, Safaricom will provide connectivity solutions for cheque truncation in all banks that are members of the KBA. The Cheque Truncation Project is expected to result in a reduction of the time required for cheque clearing and a reduction of the associated costs of transit, further speeding up the process, which will be of tangible benefit to the banking industry, stakeholders and the general public.
With this deal, the KBA joins a growing clientele of high profile corporates that have signed up with Safaricom in the recent times for the provision of corporate data services. These services are also available to small and medium enterprises and individual clients. Speaking during the signing ceremony, Safaricom’s General Manager for the Enterprise Business Unit, Sylvia Mulinge, said the company was best placed to offer converged telecommunications solutions ranging from voice, data to general IT services, given its wide and robust infrastructure. “Through our state-of-the-art infrastructure, supported by our extensive investment in fibre optic systems and redundancy satellite equipment, Safaricom is best placed to offer and deliver managed services and data centres in the areas of storage, video conferencing and, most recently, cloud computing. In dealing with our diverse customer base ranging from individual, corporate to government, Safaricom has put in place mechanisms aimed at providing tailor-made services that meet the specific needs of each segment,” said Ms Mulinge. In the past decade, the company has evolved from the provision of basic voice and mobile data services to becoming an integrated one-stop-shop in the provision of all voice, data and IT related services to businesses. Early this year, Safaricom became the first telecoms provider in the region to launch commercial TelePresence suites targeting corporate and government entities. In partnership with TATA Communications, Cisco and the Serena Hotels, the service drastically cuts operation costs especially those associated with travel for corporates. Ms Mulinge said Safaricom will continue with its innovation trajectory in its zeal to provide cutting-edge products and services aimed at addressing the ever changing needs of the modern client. Safaricom is strategically placed in offering these services thanks to its heavy investment in fibre optic systems, among them TEAMS, where it holds a majority stake, and SEACOM, where it is a major buyer of capacity. The company has also invested in satellite equipment that acts as a redundancy link in case of any downtimes, not to mention its partnerships with Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC), affording it unmatched uptimes and removing rampant cable vandalism from the equation as link runs on live electricity lines.
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