A 53-year-old businessman has won the third and final house in the Lipa Na M-PESA Shinda 3 Bedroom Promotion launched by Safaricom in December.
Mbarak Nassib, who runs a logistics firm in Mombasa, won the fully furnished house worth Sh.14 Million in the promotion that was geared at optimizing Lipa Na M-PESA usage during the festive period and at the beginning of the year.
“I saw adverts on the Lipa Na M-PESA Shinda 3 Bedroom promotion, but I never imagined that I would be a winner of this lovely home. When I received the call from Safaricom, I first thought it was a prank and it is only after I verified did I start celebrating,” said the father of five.
Nassib said, “Given the nature of my business, I use Lipa Na M-PESA quite often. However, I also use if for personal transactions because I find it more convenient than having cash on me all the time.”
The house was handed over by Bob Collymore, CEO, Safaricom.
“Nine out of 10 transactions in Kenya are made using cash. This shows that there is tremendous opportunity for Lipa Na M-PESA as well as other cashless transaction channels to thrive in this market,” said Mr. Collymore.
Lipa Na M-PESA is an innovative service that seeks to empower individuals and business owners through facilitating cashless transactions that are delivered through the mobile money service M-PESA.
The product has grown as a result of strategic partnerships that aim to ensure that Safaricom M-PESA customers have the option of using Lipa Na M-PESA at a growing number of outlets to extend the convenience of the service to a wider eco-system.
The Lipa na M-PESA Shinda 3 Bedroom promotion, valued at Kshs.118 million, saw 22-year-old Ali Mlewa Ikuthu, a boda-boda rider, and Lydia Maina, a Secretary from Nakuru County, win similar houses.
18,000 Lipa Na M-PESA merchants also won airtime or cash directly to their tills during the promotion that ended on January 25th 2016.
The Lipa Na M-PESA platform currently has over 32,000 active merchants across the country. Since its launch, the service has enjoyed high uptake and customers can now pay their bills across various businesses using Lipa Na M-PESA, which has emerged as a safe alternative to cash and as a preferred mode of payment.
