Cellulant Kenya show the way in mobile innovations on the continent

By Dan Muhuni

As the mobile telephony sector continues to be the country’s most dominant technology in use, having grown by 34.2 per cent in the last year, from 12.9 million subscribers in 2008 to 17.4 million subscribers in 2009, Mobile services Company Cellulant has come up with various innovative products in what is set to revolutionalise mobile commerce in Kenya and in Africa as a whole.

Cellulant Kenya early this week announced a new product dubbed Lipuka, that will enable integration of services to allow easy mobile access to information and banking services. Speaking during a media workshop in Nairobi, Cellulant Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kenya Mr. Ken Njoroge said: “There is a clear trend of convergence because mobile commerce has fuelled the demand for content and this is what most business are now centered around.”

Njoroge said that  Lipuka, which goes into effect next month, seeks to provide a convenient solution to mobile commerce procedures by integrating all banking services and enabling easy access of information by mobile phone users.

 The company said the service will function as a "mall" for mobile payment services, allowing users to access bills and make payments from bank accounts. Cellulant, which was established in 2004, serves over 60 million subscribers across the continent and intends to penetrate 25 countries across Africa by 2012.

Among its products are: Commerce 360-an ecosystem of converged text described as a ‘content-aware’ platform powering the services of different organizations; Lipuka - a larger ecosystem integrating services to allow for easy access to information.

Cellulant, which was established in 2004, has over 60 million customers spread around the African continent. It started off its business in Kenya and Nigeria before spreading to Uganda, Tanzania and Ghana but is looking cover 25 countries by 2012. The company is set to launch services in Malawi next month

The company is currently working on a convergence platform to be launched soon in the market and is optimistic that integration of content and services will greatly improve mobile commerce, which has already proved integral in modern business models.

Mr. Njoroge is of the view that that the mobile commerce has provided a platform for shared services and this is bound to impact positively on the economy besides improving the general business environment.

“The rate at which people are accessing information either through mobile phones on cheap internet is growing faster and this is providing the largest media platform upon which information can be shared,” he said.

Mr. Njoroge maintains that the mobile commerce industry poses great opportunities for growth and is urging young people to take up Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and innovations as a perfect opportunity upon which they ride to success.

“We are now in seven countries but we will be launching our services in Malawi next month,” said the CEO. In Kenya, the Cellulant Group, which has other branches in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria, boasts of over 40 corporate clients, among them banks and mobile service providers. 

“We have served over 12 million unique customers in seven different countries since we set up shop, Mr. Ken Njoroge said. 

With over 20 million mobile phone users in Kenya and an indicative increase in mobile phone penetration in Africa, mobile commerce is set to revolutionalise business on the continent and arguably spur economic growth.