Safaricom, Kenya’s telecommunications giant, has launched a major nationwide promotional campaign titled ‘Shangwe @25’ to commemorate 25 years of connecting and transforming lives across the country. The ambitious campaign promises to reward customers with life-changing prizes while extending the celebration to communities throughout Kenya through shared impact initiatives.
The promotion represents one of Safaricom’s most comprehensive customer appreciation campaigns, combining individual rewards with community development support to create a ripple effect of positive impact across the nation.
Life-Changing Prizes for Individual Customers
At the heart of the ‘Shangwe @25’ promotion is a commitment to creating new millionaires while simultaneously supporting community development. 25 lucky customers will each win KES 1 million, transforming their financial circumstances and opening new opportunities for their families.
What sets this promotion apart is its community-focused approach. Each of the 25 millionaire winners will receive an additional KES 250,000 specifically designated to support a community project of their choice. This innovative structure ensures that every individual win creates a broader positive impact, uplifting not just the winner but their entire community.
This dual-benefit model reflects Safaricom’s long-standing commitment to corporate social responsibility and community development, extending the celebration beyond individual customers to touch the lives of countless Kenyans across the country.
Supporting Kenyan Businesses
Recognizing the critical role that small and medium enterprises play in Kenya’s economy, the ‘Shangwe @25’ promotion includes substantial support for businesses of all sizes.
Small & Micro Business Support
25 Small & Micro businesses will each win a Bajaj Tricycle designed to power business mobility and expand their operational capacity. These three-wheeled vehicles are particularly valuable for businesses involved in delivery, transport, and distribution services, providing winners with tangible assets that can immediately enhance their business operations and revenue generation.
Additionally, every week throughout the promotion period, five Small & Micro businesses will win stock worth KES 250,000. This regular weekly injection of business inventory will help entrepreneurs expand their operations, meet customer demand, and grow their enterprises during the festive season and beyond.
Large & Medium Enterprise Engagement
For larger businesses, Safaricom has structured meaningful participation opportunities. 15 Large and Medium Enterprises will each receive KES 500,000 to support community projects of their choice. This approach enables established businesses to make significant contributions to community development while recognizing their partnership with Safaricom over the years.
The business-focused elements of ‘Shangwe @25’ demonstrate Safaricom’s understanding that supporting Kenya’s business ecosystem strengthens the entire economy and creates sustainable employment opportunities across communities.
Daily Prizes and Instant Wins
Beyond the major prizes, the promotion offers numerous opportunities for customers to win valuable prizes on a daily basis. Winners will receive a diverse range of rewards including:
- Airtime for voice communication
- Data bundles for internet connectivity
- 5G routers for high-speed home and business internet
- Mobile devices including smartphones and tablets
- Instant M-PESA cash prizes ranging from KES 100 to KES 10,000
These daily prizes ensure that thousands of Safaricom customers will experience the joy of winning throughout the promotional period, creating excitement and anticipation across the customer base.
The Unique ‘Green Box’ Experience
Adding a festive dimension to the celebration, this year’s promotion will feature the innovative ‘Green Box’ experience. Customers will have the opportunity to unwrap surprise packages containing everything from electronic devices to festive treats that bring joy to Kenyan homes during the holiday season.
The Green Box surprises include practical items like mobile devices and routers alongside festive treats such as chicken, goats, and sheep – traditional celebratory items that hold cultural significance across Kenyan communities. This thoughtful blend of modern technology and traditional festive elements reflects Safaricom’s deep understanding of Kenyan culture and values.
The Green Box experience transforms the promotion from a simple prize draw into an engaging, interactive celebration that creates memorable moments for participating customers and their families.
CEO’s Message: Celebrating 25 Years of Connection
Peter Ndegwa, CEO of Safaricom Group, emphasized the significance of the milestone and the company’s gratitude to its customers, partners, and communities.
“For 25 years, Safaricom has been at the heart of Kenya’s transformation, connecting people to people, people to opportunities and people to knowledge,” Ndegwa stated. “As we mark this milestone, we celebrate not just our journey but the millions of customers, partners, and communities who have made it possible.”
Ndegwa highlighted the promotion’s community-focused philosophy: “‘Shangwe @25’ is our way of saying thank you and ensuring that when one customer wins, their community wins too.”
This statement encapsulates Safaricom’s evolution from a telecommunications provider to a central pillar of Kenya’s social and economic infrastructure. Over 25 years, the company has connected millions of Kenyans, facilitated economic transactions through M-PESA, and supported countless community development initiatives.
How to Participate in ‘Shangwe @25’
Safaricom has designed the promotion to be inclusive and accessible, with multiple entry pathways ensuring that virtually all customers can participate.
For Individual Customers
Customers can enter the promotion through various everyday transactions:
- M-PESA transactions: Sending money, paying with M-PESA, or using merchant payment services
- Bonga Points: Redeeming or using accumulated loyalty points
- Product purchases: Buying data bundles, voice bundles, digital products, or integrated bundles
- Home Fibre: New subscriptions or renewals of Safaricom Home Fibre internet services
- Post Pay: Post-paid mobile subscriptions
- Family Share: Home Fibre Family Share customer transactions
This comprehensive list of qualifying activities means that customers engaging in their normal telecommunications and financial activities automatically earn entries into the promotion, requiring no special effort or additional spending.
For Business Customers and Merchants
Businesses can participate by:
- Buying, renewing, or reactivating business solutions, including Buy Goods till numbers and Pochi La Biashara merchant services
- Engaging with Safaricom’s business product ecosystem to improve its operational capabilities
For M-PESA Agents
M-PESA agents, who form the backbone of Kenya’s mobile money infrastructure, can participate by:
- Carrying out deposit or withdrawal transactions of KES 1,000 or more, with each qualifying transaction earning entries into the promotion
This inclusion of agents recognizes their vital role in making M-PESA accessible across Kenya, particularly in areas without traditional banking infrastructure.
Regional Launches and Market Activations
To ensure broad participation and engagement across Kenya’s diverse geography, the ‘Shangwe @25’ promotion will feature regional launches and market activations throughout the country. These on-the-ground events will bring the celebration directly to communities, creating opportunities for face-to-face engagement between Safaricom and its customers.
The regional approach acknowledges Kenya’s geographic and cultural diversity, ensuring that customers in all counties – from Nairobi to Turkana, from Mombasa to Kakamega – can fully participate in and benefit from the celebration.
Safaricom’s 25-Year Journey
The ‘Shangwe @25’ promotion comes at a significant milestone in Safaricom’s history. Since its launch in 1997 as a joint venture, Safaricom has grown to become East Africa’s most profitable company and one of the continent’s leading telecommunications providers.
Transformative Impact
Over 25 years, Safaricom has fundamentally transformed Kenya’s telecommunications landscape and economic infrastructure:
- Mobile connectivity: Bringing voice and data services to millions of previously unconnected Kenyans
- M-PESA revolution: Launching the world’s most successful mobile money platform, which has become integral to Kenya’s economy
- Internet access: Expanding broadband access through mobile data and Home Fibre services
- Financial inclusion: Enabling millions of Kenyans to access financial services for the first time
- Business enablement: Providing tools and platforms that have helped countless businesses grow and thrive
Community Development Commitment
Beyond commercial success, Safaricom has maintained a strong commitment to corporate social responsibility through the Safaricom Foundation, supporting initiatives in education, health, economic empowerment, environmental conservation, and disaster relief.
The ‘Shangwe @25’ promotion’s emphasis on community projects continues this tradition, ensuring that the 25th-anniversary celebration creates lasting positive impact across Kenyan communities.
The Ripple Effect Philosophy
The defining characteristic of the ‘Shangwe @25’ promotion is its “ripple effect” philosophy – the intentional design that ensures individual wins translate into community benefits. By allocating additional funds for community projects alongside individual prizes, Safaricom has created a promotion that amplifies its impact far beyond the direct prize winners.
This approach recognizes that Kenya’s progress has always been collective, built on communities working together to overcome challenges and seize opportunities. As Safaricom celebrates 25 years of connecting Kenyans, the promotion honors this spirit of collective advancement.
Economic Impact During Festive Season
Launching during the festive season, when consumer spending traditionally increases and families come together, the ‘Shangwe @25’ promotion will inject significant additional economic activity into communities across Kenya. The combination of cash prizes, business support, and festive gifts will enhance the holiday season for thousands of Kenyan families while supporting local businesses and economic activity.
Looking Forward
As Safaricom enters its next quarter-century, the ‘Shangwe @25’ promotion sets a celebratory tone while reaffirming the company’s commitment to its customers and communities. The promotion’s structure – rewarding individual customers while supporting community development – provides a template for how corporate celebrations can create genuine, lasting value.
With technological advancements like 5G connectivity, expanding home internet services, and continued innovation in mobile financial services on the horizon, Safaricom’s next 25 years promise to be as transformative as its first quarter-century.
