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6 | NEWSFOCUS Verbatim Telkom Kenya, now jointly owned by the Government of Kenya and Helios Investment Partners, has been an integral part from the start of the mobile telephony industry, which continues to revolutionise all facets of life in Kenya. The CEO of Telkom Kenya, Aldo Mareuse, spoke to Ngari Gituku, the Director of the Government Advertising Agency on the firm’s contribution and the industry to the country’s development; as well as its evolution into the future. How has the mobile industry in Kenya evolved since its introduction? The mobile industry has progressively grown since the turn of the millennium. Before then, calls were mainly made through fixed lines. Today, mobile phones rule the space. Mobile penetration has grown exponentially across Kenya. The Communications Authority estimates mobile penetration at 95.1 per cent. This has created opportunities for the mobile phone to be applied in addressing pertinent socio-economic challenges in the country. The other change in the mobile industry has been its functionality. When it first came, the mobile phone was mainly used for making, receiving calls and exchanging text messages – now you also can send/ receive money or even bank, browse the Internet. The phone has become a part of our lifestyle. The rise of mobile money has had a significant impact on enhancing financial inclusion, consequently availing financial services that were long before a reserve of only a few. Kenya, is in many ways, considered the cradle of mobile money, significantly leapfrogging the rest of the world. The other area that has significantly evolved in the industry regards Internet penetration. The mobile phone has enabled Kenyans access fast, reliable Internet on their palms, one no longer has to go to cyber cafes to access the Internet. Through Internet-connected mobile phones, many apps are transforming lives. What has been Telkom Kenya’s contribution to this growth of Kenya’s telecommunication industry? It is 18 years since Telkom was established as a telecommunications operator in Kenya. Our heritage however dates back to pre-Independence days – the 1940s and 1950s, when the country’s telecommunication network was managed as part of the East African region before the collapse of the regional bloc. It is then that the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation was formed, before it was eventually split into three: Telkom Kenya, Postal Corporation of Kenya and the Communications Commission of Kenya now Communications Authority. The entire mobile telecommunication industry today was once housed within Telkom. Today, Telkom Kenya holds 10 per cent market share of the country’s mobile subscription. It is an integrated mobile services company offering voice, SMS, data and mobile money services. It caters for individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises, corporates, national and county government, departments and agencies. We have physical presence across the country through our 48 retail outlets, which we continue to increase as part of our ongoing expansion of the sales and distribution footprint. We are committed to consistently deliver value to our growing customer base that has already crossed the 4 million mark. Our objective is to transform Telkom into a business with a reputation for excellence in network quality and reliability. What is the role of the mobile industry in driving Kenya’s development? The mobile industry is a critical infrastructure that facilitates connectivity in the country. It is a major enabler in catapulting the country towards its long-term development aspirations as outlined under Vision 2030. The mobile industry has, since the turn of the millennium, facilitated efforts to interconnect different parts of the country. In many ways, it has been an enabler, powering different sectors of the economy, sustaining livelihoods of many Kenyans, enhancing business processes and generally delivering a better quality of life. Even for the Big Four agenda, the mobile industry plays an important enabling role. For housing, agriculture, manufacturing and health sectors to thrive, it requires technology, and this includes mobile technology. The mobile industry has contributed towards Kenya’s development with the provision of call and text message services, data and mobile money services. By interconnection, the industry is enabling trade, attracting investment and opening up the entire country. How has mobile money impacted on the economy? Mobile money service has been pivotal in driving Kenya’s financial inclusion agenda. Through mobile money, many Kenyans that were previously excluded from the formal financial systems can now enjoy the service. Telkom launched T-kash in March, 2018 to enable subscribers to send, receive money, as well as make payments. Today, 70 per cent of Kenyans have access to mobile money. In order to enable mobile money subscribers to fully enjoy its benefits, the industry came together to integrate the mobile money ecosystem through mobile money interoperability. This currently facilitates seamless transfer of money from one network to another at no extra cost. We have just completed integrating our mobile money platform with Safaricom and are working towards doing the same with Airtel. The onus is on the industry to work together in unlocking the full benefits of mobile money interoperability to capture agency interop and merchant payments. In addition to this, there is need for the industry to continuously innovate to ensure that the mobile money service, for which Kenya is globally acclaimed, continues to deliver benefits to the economy. This is the reason we continue to innovate and ensure that T-kash is at the cutting edge of technology in terms of functionality and security. How is Telkom, and the rest of the mobile industry, facilitating devolution? Telkom has a robust infrastructure and network across the country. With infrastructure already rolled out across all 47 counties, we are enabling automation and self-service of important government services such as the County Connectivity Project that has seen us connect county Government offices to the internet and promote email and teleconferencing.Through connectivity infrastructure, we are able to bring together data that previously existed in isolation to meaningful use through the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS). With this data, county and the national government can derive trends and insights to inform decision-making. Moreover, this interconnectedness of systems and processes brings simplicity and control thus reducing the risk associated with financial transactions. The network infrastructure we have rolled out is only of use if utilised by Kenyans and with access to a reliable mobile phone signal, counties can engage, collaborate and synergise. By powering the Huduma centres, we have enhanced service delivery and processing of crucial documents such as Birth Certificates and National IDs, by providing collaborative access to the national data registries - enabling faster processing of crucial documentation and faster service delivery. How is Telkom supporting Kenyan enterprises? Telkom supports Kenyan businesses – from SMEs to large corporates – through our recently repositioned enterprise solutions. Our corWhat has been Telkom Kenya’s role in providing connectivity to the rest of the world through cable? Telkom Kenya’s terrestrial backbone runs October 9, 2018 www.mygov.go.ke How Kenya’s Mobile industry is 3 porate business, Telkom Enterprise, leverages on Telkom’s position as the only far-reaching enterprise solutions provider with the widest coverage across the country both on voice and data channels. We are also working to connect buildings to high-speed fibre Internet to power businesses. Today’s businesses are driven by the relationships between infrastructure, people and economic value. For Telkom, our driver is to be an ICT solutions provider. It simply is no longer about only delivering connectivity but economic value with ICT as an enabler. Telkom is therefore moving from simply developing architecture to building business strategies powered by technology. In addition to the provision of business processes and capabilities, we are an enabler of business vision. This is in recognition of the fact that the economy cannot grow without thriving enterprises. Telkom is committed to supporting businesses, in order to create jobs and unlock other economic benefits.

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