Kenya using tech in war on pandemic

Denis Gitau | May 15, 2020

Kenya is among African countries leveraging various forms of technology to fight the Coronavirus pandemic. Kenya is also the leading African country in digital payment adoption.

In a continent with weak healthcare systems, digital solutions are being employed to deliver practical, effective, and sustainable solutions as efforts are intensified to fight the disease that has led to the loss of lives and far-reaching economic and health consequences.

While announcing partial lockdown in April of Nairobi, Mombasa, Kilifi, and Kwale counties, President Uhuru Kenyatta encouraged Kenyans to use technology to conduct their routines, including adopting cashless transactions to help curb the Covid19 spread countrywide.

Kenya has largely turned to mobile money options and are conduction cashless transactions.

Going digital hasn’t been a tough call for Kenyans as the country has one of the highest rates of mobile finance adoption in the world, largely driven by M-Pesa.

To enable Kenyans, go cashless, the country’s largest mobile provider, Safaricom waived fees for M-Pesa transactions below Sh1,000 for 90 days.

The move is meant to deepen mobile money usage and reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus.

Not to be left behind, Airtel announced that all person-to-person money transfer would be free for 90 days.

The mobile companies have also increased the transaction limits and the amounts individuals can hold in their mobile wallets.

Further, Airtel has offered free internet services to support home-learning through the Longhorn e-platform through which learning material can be accessed on SMS, Android, and Windows mobile platforms. Providing free and affordable services has enabled internet access and streaming services to access current affairs, entertainment, information, and bolstered e-commerce, beaming services straight into people’s homes.

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