Kenyan Innovation... M-Pesa top revenue source in Vodafone's Safaricom investment

[Baba Sangara]

[TD="colspan: 2"][h=1]M-Pesa top revenue source in Vodafone's Safaricom investment[/h][/TD]

[TD="colspan: 2"] By George Mwangi, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires Monday 15 August 2011
[/TD]

[TD="colspan: 2"][h=2]U.K. mobile operator earned $21 million from Kenyan subsidiary in 2011, with more than half coming from money transfer service.[/h][/TD]

[TD="colspan: 2"] Kenya's leading mobile money transfer service M-Pesa was the top source of revenue for Vodafone Group PLC through the U.K. mobile operator's investment in Safaricom Ltd. in fiscal 2011, the East African weekly newspaper reports Monday.

Safaricom's latest annual report shows Vodafone earned $21 million through its Kenyan subsidiary, with $15.6 million coming from M-Pesa in license fees, the weekly reports.

The mobile money transfers account for 2% of Safaricom's total revenue of $1 billion, the weekly says.

The strong growth in M-Pesa subscriber numbers has helped Safaricom hold on to some of its customers at a time when mobile service providers in Kenya have been slashing call rates to expand their subscriber base, the daily reports.

M-Pesa enables mobile subscribers to send and receive money from other subscribers.

Safaricom currently has over 17 million subscribers in Kenya, commanding a share of more than 70% of the Kenyan mobile market, the weekly reports.

Safaricom is also diversifying into data services due to the stiff competition in voice service rates.

[/TD]

 

[Prof Griff]

Baba Sangara,

Heshima mbele mkuu! With all due regards, I'd like to hear from you what claims like "Kenyan innovation", "American innovation", "Chinese innovation" exactly mean to you? Does it have to do with the particular nationality or nationalities of individual originator(s) or patent holder(s) of the particular kind of technology, or is it something that's connected to where (as in country or nation) the technology was first taken into widespread use, and subsequently turned out to be be, as in M-Pesa's case, a whopping success?

That being said, to what extent can local, country-based subsidiaries of global corporations (like so-called "Kenyan" Safaricom Ltd in relation to a multinational like Vodafone in this case) tout a technology as homegrown while in fact the original concept came from outside?

 

[Baba Sangara]

Mheshimiwa,.. The technology behind "mobile banking" is in all honesty nothing to write home about and has been around for a while..Globe and Smart in the Philippines were successfully dabbing in mobile based financial transactions nearly a decade ago... Vodafone did nothing for Safaricom in view of M-Pesa, they only came around to lift the laurels..If you ask me, M-pesa is a Kenyan innovation..You could call it subjective..I'll try with an analogy, say, if someone in Bongo set up a network of cheap Chinese motorbike-taxi's where customers pay a monthly fee in advance and have a the right to flag down a taxi twice a day to any destination of choice...And, this became a huge success and done all over the world... Would we be inclined to call this Chinese innovation simply because they sold motorbike at affordable prices?.... I would be inclined to call it Tanzanian innovation... Vodafone, FT (Orange), T-Mobile and other big players on the world market tried "Simpay" in 2003 in Europe and fell flat on their noses..They incurred massive losses and folded before they could even launch... Safaricom whose focus was more on subscriber acceptance of the product and on guaranteeing fluidity of the accounts had no issues.... Vodafone ni kama meli kubwa, wanahitaji watu kumi elfu kukubaliana kabla ya kukata kona kwa hiyo wanabaki nyuma...I think we should just give it to the man Micheal Joseph and Safaricom?

 

[Prof Griff]

Mheshimiwa,.. The technology behind "mobile banking" is in all honesty nothing to write home about and has been around for a while..Globe and Smart in the Philippines were successfully dabbing in mobile based financial transactions nearly a decade ago... Vodafone did nothing for Safaricom in view of M-Pesa, they only came around to lift the laurels..If you ask me, M-pesa is a Kenyan innovation..You could call it subjective..I'll try with an analogy, say, if someone in Bongo set up a network of cheap Chinese motorbike-taxi's where customers pay a monthly fee in advance and have a the right to flag down a taxi twice a day to any destination of choice...And, this became a huge success and done all over the world... Would we be inclined to call this Chinese innovation simply because they sold motorbike at affordable prices?.... I would be inclined to call it Tanzanian innovation... Vodafone, FT (Orange), T-Mobile and other big players on the world market tried "Simpay" in 2003 in Europe and fell flat on their noses..They incurred massive losses and folded before they could even launch... Safaricom whose focus was more on subscriber acceptance of the product and on guaranteeing fluidity of the accounts had no issues.... Vodafone ni kama meli kubwa, wanahitaji watu kumi elfu kukubaliana kabla ya kukata kona kwa hiyo wanabaki nyuma...I think we should just give it to the man Micheal Joseph and Safaricom?

Hii imetulia. Asante kwa kutuelimisha mkuu.

 

[Geza Ulole]

Mheshimiwa,.. The technology behind "mobile banking" is in all honesty nothing to write home about and has been around for a while..Globe and Smart in the Philippines were successfully dabbing in mobile based financial transactions nearly a decade ago... Vodafone did nothing for Safaricom in view of M-Pesa, they only came around to lift the laurels..If you ask me, M-pesa is a Kenyan innovation..You could call it subjective..I'll try with an analogy, say, if someone in Bongo set up a network of cheap Chinese motorbike-taxi's where customers pay a monthly fee in advance and have a the right to flag down a taxi twice a day to any destination of choice...And, this became a huge success and done all over the world... Would we be inclined to call this Chinese innovation simply because they sold motorbike at affordable prices?.... I would be inclined to call it Tanzanian innovation... Vodafone, FT (Orange), T-Mobile and other big players on the world market tried "Simpay" in 2003 in Europe and fell flat on their noses..They incurred massive losses and folded before they could even launch... Safaricom whose focus was more on subscriber acceptance of the product and on guaranteeing fluidity of the accounts had no issues.... Vodafone ni kama meli kubwa, wanahitaji watu kumi elfu kukubaliana kabla ya kukata kona kwa hiyo wanabaki nyuma...I think we should just give it to the man Micheal Joseph and Safaricom?

Nah still i can't call it Kenyan! from the meaning of the word innovation; i can't call it Kenyan innovation but Vodafone Innovation that found success in Kenya! Why? cause M-pesa was a pilot project introduced by Vodafone in Kenya!

 

[simplemind]

Everyone knows Thomas Edison invented the light bulb,everyones knows to that orville and Wilbur Wright invented the aeroplane,we know to that Alexander Graham Bell invented the Telephone. Today Phillips mass produces Bulbs,Boieng manufuctures planes and Nokia is mass producer of Telephone,while credit goes to both inventor and the man who toils to bring innovation to market ,we are well adviced to remember no invention no product or service.

 

[Baba Sangara]

Nah still i can't call it Kenyan! from the meaning of the word innovation; i can't call it Kenyan innovation but Vodafone Innovation that found success in Kenya! Why? cause M-pesa was a pilot project introduced by Vodafone in Kenya!

Sawa, if you insist... Here,try M-Pesa for dummies,( M-Pesa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) and tell me where you see Vodafone... ".... It was entirely developed by Kenyans and was initially sponsored by the UK-based Department for International Development (DFID) in 2003–2007...."
Hivi wewe mpaka uone nyuso za kizungu ndio unaamini kuna "innovation".. have some faith in the capability of east-Africans and perhaps try take pride that it is also an "east African innovation"?

 

[Prof Griff]

Baba Sangara, what do you maketh out of the following info about Sagentia? The link is derived from the M-Pesa Wiki page you provided above (Talk about connecting the dots... lol!). Moreover, we're told from the M-Pesa wiki page that, Sagentia happens to be a British Company, that "developed and ran [M-Pesa] from initial development to the 6 million customer mark". So why should Kenya get the credit?

Sagentia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Awards

The company has won several awards in recent years:

• February 2009 - Safaricom & Vodafone won Best Mobile Money Service category in the GSM Global Mobile Awards 2009[SUP][4][/SUP] for M-Pesadeveloped for Vodafone by Sagentia
• December 2008 - ERBI Medtech Innovation Award [SUP][5][/SUP].
• April 2008 - won the Technology, the Innovation and the overall Best Private Sector Project Awards at the Management Consulting Awards for the M-Pesa product [SUP][6][/SUP].

 

[Baba Sangara]

Baba Sangara, what do you maketh out of the following info about Sagentia? The link is derived from the M-Pesa Wiki page you provided above (Talk about connecting the dots... lol!). Moreover, we're told from the M-Pesa wiki page that, Sagentia happens to be a British Company, that "developed and ran [M-Pesa] from initial development to the 6 million customer mark". So why should Kenya get the credit?

Sagentia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Awards

The company has won several awards in recent years:

• February 2009 - Safaricom & Vodafone won Best Mobile Money Service category in the GSM Global Mobile Awards 2009[SUP][4][/SUP] for M-Pesadeveloped for Vodafone by Sagentia
• December 2008 - ERBI Medtech Innovation Award [SUP][5][/SUP].
• April 2008 - won the Technology, the Innovation and the overall Best Private Sector Project Awards at the Management Consulting Awards for the M-Pesa product [SUP][6][/SUP].

I maketh nothing of it!..When you build a house, you get a mason to do your walls, a plumber to do your pipes, an electrician to do your wiring, a carpenter to do your woodwork etc etc... And when you talk to your friends you tell them YOU build the house, ausio?... Solution integrators , developers are all part of the telecom product ecosystem... Trying to realize your products without involving niche experts will leave you with a banda la kuku instead of a house...

 

[Geza Ulole]

I maketh nothing of it!..When you build a house, you get a mason to do your walls, a plumber to do your pipes, an electrician to do your wiring, a carpenter to do your woodwork etc etc... And when you talk to your friends you tell them YOU build the house, ausio?... Solution integrators , developers are all part of the telecom product ecosystem... Trying to realize your products without involving niche experts will leave you with a banda la kuku instead of a house...

but don't mix the two between building a house and intellectual innovation! still you build a house but the mason ought to be accredited that"s why in developed countries there are contracts binding such staffs. You can't simply compare the two! That's why accredition is protected by intellectual laws!

 

[Geza Ulole]

Sawa, if you insist... Here,try M-Pesa for dummies,( M-Pesa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) and tell me where you see Vodafone... ".... It was entirely developed by Kenyans and was initially sponsored by the UK-based Department for International Development (DFID) in 2003–2007...."
Hivi wewe mpaka uone nyuso za kizungu ndio unaamini kuna "innovation".. have some faith in the capability of east-Africans and perhaps try take pride that it is also an "east African innovation"?

so you trust wikipedia anh? Jesus Christ! you and me can post anything in wikipedia...

 

[Baba Sangara]

but don't mix the two between building a house and intellectual innovation! still you build a house but the mason ought to be accredited that"s why in developed countries there are contracts binding such staffs. You can't simply compare the two! That's why accredition is protected by intellectual laws!

I see.... I guess we should assume Sangetia has the intellectual rights to M-Pesa?... The Mason does what you tell him to do, the electrician lays the wires like you want, the plumber puts the bathtub in the kitchen as you want.. and that is why the house is built by you.... The bottom line is that M-Pesa is a Kenyan innovation and the Telecoms world accepts this! Plenty of people dreamed of flying from the days of Icarus but the innovation as such is attributed to Orville and Wilbur Wright! Kenyans put Mobile wallets on the world map, So, just give it to them and try put Tanzania on the world map!

 

[Prof Griff]

I maketh nothing of it!..When you build a house, you get a mason to do your walls, a plumber to do your pipes, an electrician to do your wiring, a carpenter to do your woodwork etc etc... And when you talk to your friends you tell them YOU build the house, ausio?... Solution integrators , developers are all part of the telecom product ecosystem... Trying to realize your products without involving niche experts will leave you with a banda la kuku instead of a house...

Well, I think it all has to do with context, which you've taken the trouble to inform us earlier i.e., failures of similar projects in Europe and the Philippines, and what the term "innovation" really means (see below). Therefore, if we go by the book definition of "innovation", it should be fair to say M-Pesa is a Kenyan innovation.

Innovation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The term innovation derives from the Latin word innovatus, which is the noun form of innovare "to renew or change," stemming from in-"into" + novus-"new". Although the term is broadly used, innovation generally refers to the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society. Innovation differs from invention or renovation in that innovation generally signifies a substantial positive change compared to incremental changes."

 

[Geza Ulole]

I see.... I guess we should assume Sangetia has the intellectual rights to M-Pesa?... The Mason does what you tell him to do, the electrician lays the wires like you want, the plumber puts the bathtub in the kitchen as you want.. and that is why the house is built by you.... The bottom line is that M-Pesa is a Kenyan innovation and the Telecoms world accepts this! Plenty of people dreamed of flying from the days of Icarus but the innovation as such is attributed to Orville and Wilbur Wright! Kenyans put Mobile wallets on the world map, So, just give it to them and try put Tanzania on the world map!

Hell no! when you try to have a scientific argument try not to quote wikipedia since wikipedia credibility is very low! I can also put my views (the way i want) in wikipedia though i am not a linguistic expert! Kenya did not innovate M-pesa! I repeat did not innovate M-pesa since the technology isn't theirs and was not a new idea by the time it started in Kenya! check credible website for a definition of innovation Innovate | Define Innovate at Dictionary.com. Back to Mason issue, still even if you pay so and so to do different tasks to construct your house still you did not build the house you paid someone to design and build your house! you are the owner of the house since you injected your money! Therefore you did not innovate the house/M-pesa since most architects/innovators are already aware of your preferences/market demand though they look new to you since you have not carried out a research!

 

[Prof Griff]

Hell no! when you try to have a scientific argument try not to quote wikipedia since wikipedia credibility is very low! I can also put my views (the way i want) in wikipedia though i am not a linguistic expert! I repeat did not innovate M-pesa since the technology isn't theirs and was not a new idea by the time it started in Kenya! check credible website for a definition of innovation Innovate | Define Innovate at Dictionary.com. Back to Mason issue, still even if you pay so and so to do different tasks to construct your house still you did not build the house you paid someone to design and build your house! you are the owner of the house since you injected your money! Therefore you did not innovate the house/M-pesa since most architects/innovators are already aware of your preferences/market demand though they look new to you since you have not carried out a research!

Mtu huna pointi bado umeng'ang'ana tu "Kenya did not innovate M-pesa!". Kwako dictionary.com unaona ndiyo "credible" source licha ya ma-google ads yote and all kinds of blinking distractions yaliyotanda humo hadi mtu hujui uanzie kusoma wapi, siyo? Pamoja na yote, hiyo source yako doesn't even support your contention:

in·no·vate

verb, -vat·ed, -vat·ing.

–verb (used without object) 1. to introduce something new; make changes in anything established.

Kupoteza maneno mengi kwenye hiyo analogy is simply meaningless. Whether you buy into it or not, it won't change a darn thing kwamba M-pesa is a Kenyan innovation. Mijitu bana mingine sijui imeumbwaje!

 

[Geza Ulole]

Mtu huna pointi bado umeng'ang'ana tu "Kenya did not innovate M-pesa!". Kwako dictionary.com unaona ndiyo "credible" source licha ya ma-google ads yote and all kinds of blinking distractions yaliyotanda humo hadi mtu hujui uanzie kusoma wapi, siyo? Pamoja na yote, hiyo source yako doesn't even support your contention:

in·no·vate

verb, -vat·ed, -vat·ing.

–verb (used without object) 1. to introduce something new; make changes in anything established.

Kupoteza maneno mengi kwenye hiyo analogy is simply meaningless. Whether you buy into it or not, it won't change a darn thing kwamba M-pesa is a Kenyan innovation. Mijitu bana mingine sijui imeumbwaje!

kwenda zako wewe! huwezi kufananisha Dictionary na wikipedia! sasa Kenya wamefanya changes zipi kwa mobile transfer ambayo ishakuwapo huko Indonesia hapo kabla? au changes hapo ni kuwa na wateja? na Nchi nyingine ikipata wateja wengi zaidi wa mobile transfer watakuwa wamefanya innovation sio? nenda kasome wewe na uache shallow thinking!

 

[Geza Ulole]

For other uses, see Innovation (disambiguation).

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The term innovation did not derive from the Latin word innovatus, which is the noun form of innovare "to renew or change," stemming from in-"into" + novus-"new". Although the term is broadly used, innovation generally refers to the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society. Innovation differs from invention or renovation in that innovation generally signifies a substantial positive change compared to incremental changes.

 

[Geza Ulole]

For other uses, see Innovation (disambiguation).

[TABLE="class: vertical-navbox nowraplinks"]
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[TD="class: navbox-abovebelow"]By technological eras[/TD]
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Second Industrial Revolution
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The term innovation did not derive from the Latin word innovatus, which is the noun form of innovare "to renew or change," stemming from in-"into" + novus-"new". Although the term is broadly used, innovation generally refers to the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society. Innovation differs from invention or renovation in that innovation generally signifies a substantial positive change compared to incremental changes.

ku-discredit wikipedia nimebadili hiyo source yako na kuweka did not! any fool out there anaweza kuweka madudu yake wikipedia ndo maana si reliable

 

[Prof Griff]

kwenda zako wewe! huwezi kufananisha Dictionary na wikipedia! sasa Kenya wamefanya changes zipi kwa mobile transfer ambayo ishakuwapo huko Indonesia hapo kabla? au changes hapo ni kuwa na wateja? na Nchi nyingine ikipata wateja wengi zaidi wa mobile transfer watakuwa wamefanya innovation sio? nenda kasome wewe na uache shallow thinking!

Since you brought it up, why not go ahead and explain to us how M-Pesa is really nothing but a simple clone of some supposedly identical Indonesian system?

 

[Geza Ulole]

Since you brought it up, why not go ahead and explain to us how M-Pesa is really nothing but a simple clone of some supposedly similar Indonesian system?

well there was no innovation with mobile transfer in Kenya; compared to what happened in Indonesia nothing changed! the technology was done the same way as in Indonesia so that's i can't say kuna innovation cause of market customers! get my logic