Monthly Archive for February, 2009

Housing Finance’s micro sites go live!

Published on February 21, 2009 in random. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Housing Finance is the leading mortgage finance institution in Kenya. Established over 40 years ago, Housing Finance has been “turning dreams into homes” for thousands of Kenyan families and housing developers. Mainly by providing easy access to mortgage finance and by enabling our clients to save money as they build, buy and own their homes. In 2008, Housing Finance selected Dotsavvy to implement micro sites for its 1st HOP and Makao products. These micro sites we’re successfully launched in the months of January and February 2009.

firsthop11st HOP stands for First Home Ownership Plan which is a savings product for first time home owners. The product targets 25 to 30 year old Kenyans who have a regular income and are able to save a minimum of Kes. 4,000.00 per month for a period not exceeding 10 years. The goal of implementing the redesigned 1st HOP micro site was to create an engaging and rich multimedia experience that would appeal to the target audience – aspirational young homeowners. Dotsavvy achieved the requirements of the client brief by implementing the micro site entirely in Flash, integrating a social bookmarking module and creating a facebook profile page. In addition, the 1st HOP micro site has online tools such as mortgage and savings calculators that are designed to assist prospective customers to determine what sort of mortgage repayments they can afford. Dotsavvy is also developing a comprehensive internet marketing program that will ensure the site reaches Kenyan’s at home and in the Diaspora.

Makao is a product for Kenyans who would aspire to own properties without going through the hassles of construction. Makao provides a seamless end to end solution by involving a consortium of building professionals to oversee the construction and deliver within a specified time period. Makao also offers cost savings of up to 20% on total cost of construction. The Makao micro site required an online catalogue of the various kinds of houses and apartments that we’re available within the product offering. At the same time, as a product geared towards Kenyans in Kenya and the Diaspora, it was essential that Dotsavvy achieve a high-end aesthetic and refined user experience that would lead to conversions. In order to do so, Dotsavvy adapted various multimedia presentations of properties offered by Makao by creating a Youtube Channel dedicated to showcasing them. The Makao micro site also has an online mortgage calculator to assist prospective customers to determine different scenarios for mortgage repayments. The micro site also has a content management system and social bookmarking module integrated. Dotsavvy will also be deploying an internet marketing campaign for Makao in due course.

Kenya Wine Agencies (KWAL) goes online.

Published on February 21, 2009 in random. 10 Comments Tags: , , , , .

kwalogoKenya Wine Agencies Limited who are also popularly known by their acronym “KWAL” launched their web site this week at http://www.kwal.co.ke. KWAL is a leader in Kenya for the procurement, production, packaging and marketing of a wide range of selected quality alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. KWAL operates in most of Kenya’s cities and large towns. Some of the well-known beverage brands that they handle in Kenya include Tropical Breeze Ice, Afrikoko, Amarula, Beefeater, Chivas Regal, Martell and Martini.

The KWAL web site is the company’s first foray in internet marketing. KWAL selected Dotsavvy to implement the web site, the scope of which included creative design, information architecture, content management system integration, content re-purposing and internet marketing.

The second phase of the project is the integration of an e-commerce capable online catalogue and shopping cart so that retailers and customers can make online orders and also pay for them. The second phase will also include an aggressive internet marketing campaign though search engines and other relevant channels.The web site is expected to become a cornerstone of KWAL’s overall marketing and customer service efforts. Enjoy browsing KWAL responsibly!

Zain finally launches Zap in Kenya.

Published on February 21, 2009 in random. 10 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Earlier this week Zain, Kenya’s second largest mobile network operator, finally launched its Zap mobile money transfer services after protracted delays in securing operating rights from the Central Bank of Kenya.

Zap, which has been launched as the second mobile money transfer service in Kenya after Safaricom’s wildly successful M-Pesa service is expected to enable Zain to grow its market share and customer loyalty in the face of increasing competition in the marketplace. Safaricom currently has over 5 million registered M-Pesa users and is signing up new users at an enormous rate.

Zap for the time being has an edge on M-Pesa in that it is more than a mobile money transfer service. Zap goes a step further by enabling users to access funds from their bank accounts and even pay their utility bills. This feature is being offered on Zap for customers with Standard Chartered Bank and Co-operative Bank of Kenya accounts at the moment with more banks expected to sign up.

Another interesting aspect of Zap is that charges are only Kes. 10.00 for ALL money transfers up to a limit of Kes. 35,000.00 whereas Safaricom transaction fees range from Kes. 30.00 to Kes. 400.00 depending on the amount of money being transferred. Finally, Zain expects to expand the use of Zap to the payment of goods and services that is currently used to only a very limited extent via Safaricom’s M-Pesa.

Going forward, it is expected that Orange Kenya and YU will also launch their own mobile money transfer services within the next few months. What remains to be seen in both cases is what sort of entry and pricing strategies they will adopt. It seems obvious that each mobile network will look to build strategic alliances with as many service providers as possible in the banking sector as well as other traditional money transfer services like Moneygram, Postapay and Western Union who dominate the multi-billion shilling international money remittances business.

Kenya thrashes New Zealand at the United States Sevens.

Published on February 15, 2009 in random. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , .

Kenya’s Rugby Seven’s Team stunned New Zealand 24-7 for the first time in 14 matches to join the All Blacks in the quarterfinals of the United States Sevens this  Saturday. This amazing outcome sets up Kenya for a quarter final tie with the USA, a game I expect they should win and take them to the semi-final stage of the tournament. Good luck later today boys! Yes, you can!

CFC Life Assurance Web Site Relaunched.

Published on February 15, 2009 in random. 7 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

CFC Life Assurance, one of the largest life insurance companies in Kenya re-launched their Dotsavvy designed web site in the course of this past week. CFC Life Assurance is owned by CFC Stanbic Bank that was formed last year from the merger between CFC Bank and Stanbic Bank Kenya.

The web site, which can be accessed at http://www.cfclife-kenya.com is a significantly improved web site in terms of overall creative design, information architecture, content mangement system and other back-end technologies in comparison to the recently replaced web site that Dotsavvy developed for them back in 2005.

The web site also incorporates some of the recently launched innovative products and services such as Lifevest which CFC Life Assurance is currently pushing aggressively in the Kenyan marketplace. The web site also conforms to CFC Life Assurance’s current marketing campaigns using more traditional media such as Television, Print, Radio and Outdoor.

Going forward, the CFC Life Assurance web site will evolve through the integration of online tools such as customer relationship management, premium calculators, customer and broker/agent extranet(s) as well as aggressive internet marketing to current and prospective customers in Kenya and the Diaspora.

Orange Kenya launches per minute wireless Internet.

Published on February 14, 2009 in random. 11 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

In what is fast becoming a glut of Home and/or SME internet access solutions in Kenya, Orange Kenya has launched a low cost CDMA-based service. The service requires the purchase of a Kes. 3,500.00 USB modem and charges only Kes. 1.00 per minute between the hours of 7.00 pm to 7.00 am and Kes. 2.00 from 7.00 am to 7 pm.

The new service can also be accessed via an Orange Fixed Plus prepaid connection handset if you have one already or opt to purchase one instead of the modem.  This dial-up service should NOT be confused with Orange Broadband which offers significantly faster speeds and charges for unlimited monthly access based on different bandwidth packages (the least expensive starting at a hefty Kes. 6,000.00 per month for the Plus service).

The full package for the new Orange Kenya Wireless Internet Service comes with the following:

  • 1 USB modem (Windows 2000 and XP compatible)
  • Free data enabled RUIM card
  • Free Orange Fixed Plus entry pack with Kes. 50 bonus airtime on activation
  • No connection fee
  • Coverage with Orange Fixed Plus

The package can be acquired from all Orange Customer Experience Centres and Orange Dealer shops. More information can be obtained by calling 100 from any phone connected to the Orange Kenya or Telkom Kenya networks or 020 222 1000 from other telecom networks operating in Kenya.

Headhunting Interview with the Business Daily.

Published on February 3, 2009 in random. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

This is an article that was published in today’s edition of The Business Daily where I was quoted following an interview I had with Abyssinia Lati this past week. Here is the full article.