There is every possibility of gaining economic stability in Kenya, following the contributions made by Safaricom. The mobile phone service provider Safaricom, is rated as the East Africa’s most profitable company. Safaricom has profited considerably by motivating customers for mobile phones. As a kind of encouragement, the company is allowing Kenyans to buy airtime in increments as little as 20 Kenyan shillings (that is about $0.30) with the handsets. No doubt the target is to grow in the market by making people understand the inevitability of a mobile phone to the people of Kenya. Safaricom has also got called M-Pesa in its mobiles, that permits people to utilize their mobile phones for money transfers. A figure of $370 million in 2007 as pre-tax profit, the company’s growth gets signified as 20,000 in 2000 to about 10 million today. This magnificent turn over in a country like Kenya, where income averages is out to a dollar a day, creates a new strategical market.
Added to this, the IPO created a new fever of buying shares of Safaricom, among the people of Kenya. There were loans provided to help Kenyans buy shares to a minimum of 10,000 shillings (just over $150). The Kenyan government is in for a boon, to have economic stability in the country. With Safaricom shares starting at seven U.S. cents, that means the government could make 50 billion shillings as owns 60% of Safaricom, and 25% of that stake is up for sale. This will make about $780 million on the sale.
At the launch of IPO, Kibaki made the idea more clear. He considered the investing process to Safaricom as ‘a step in the healing process’ to the economy of Kenya. He further insisted Kenyans to “take advantage of this investment opportunity and take part in the success story that we have created together.”
Via Time