Nairobi, Safaricom pioneer county coded USSD
Nairobi county has partnered with Safaricom for smart parking and water billing solutions which will see the county use its own short code *047# for easily making payments.
Counties have been using different platforms to digitize payments which has seen multiple short codes including *235# to *647# for Nairobi that are most times hard to remember.
These unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) codes, that are supposed to make payments easier are sometimes confusing which makes this simple solution quite revolutionary especially if rolled out in other counties.
Safaricom is expanding its smart solution offering to diversify from the plateauing voice and messaging as well as the dominant mobile money business into smart metering and digital marketplace through the Safaricom super app.
Nairobi becomes the first county to get a slot on Safaricom super app via “My Nairobi App”, a one-stop shop for Nairobi County residents and visitors to access services with multiple functionalities including making payments.
The hub will also include an engagement channel known as “Bonga na Sakaja” which will enable Nairobi residents to engage with the county and share feedback towards improvement of services.
“This My Nairobi Hub will enable us to offer better services to the people of Nairobi. It offers. Our partnership with Safaricom will usher in a better experience not only in revenue aspects but real-time communication,” said the Governor of Nairobi County, Sakaja Johnson.
Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said other solutions to be provided include revenue collection, parking management solutions, and green credits through Digifarm.
The partnership will also see the county benefit from solutions to provide healthcare to low-income residents and better integration with its other partners such as Kenya Medical Supplies Authority.
Other solutions in the partnerships include smart water systems under the smart city initiative, WiFi hotspots in low-income settlements and around bus stops, an Integrated Traffic and Parking Management Solution and a Disaster Recovery Site for the county.
