Lumia offers solution on spending

The upsurge of Supermarkets and shopping malls in Kenya indicates a changing a trend in ways Kenyans do their shopping activities. 

 

In May this year, Consumer Insight’s released their latest Maisha study dubbed “Africa Has Finally Found True Love” which indicated that 47 per cent of Kenyan shoppers head to malls to shop because of convenience and pricing margins. 

Despite the increase in shopping activities, these urban residents still face a challenge of balancing their income with other essential expenses such as transport and rent which are equally on the rise due to traffic jams and limited houses respectively. As a result many Kenyans are finding themselves spending beyond their means to meet these daily demands. 

The study also indicates that Kenyan teenagers and young adults spend over Sh252 billion annually on depreciating assets such as cars. This is a worrying trend especially in a developing country where about 70 per cent of the population is unemployed and financially dependent on parents and guardians.

This is supported by additional findings from the Holla survey released by consumer Insights earlier this year which stated that Kenyans between the ages of seven and 25 are taking a cue from their older counterparts and breaking the bank to spend what they don’t have. This trend will be propagated more by the festive season that is around the corner. Many Kenyans will make merry and spend more with little or no regard to saving thus pushing themselves into deep financial crisis. 

By the end of the season credit cards run dry when utility bills are pending, as a result they will dash to banking halls to withdraw their last savings to pay these bills leaving them financially constraint. Simple solutions to be financially disciplined and track your expenses via your mobile device can be found on your Lumia, this include: 

Spending Tracker

This is the easiest and most user friendly personal finance app in the store. The simple fact is, by tracking your spending you’re able to stick to your budget and be able to save money. The features of the app include:

•          Simple and intuitive user interface

•          Flexible Time Periods (Weekly, Monthly & Yearly)

•          Overview of your current spending progress

•          Log Expense and Income quickly and easily

•          Budget Mode allows you to set a fixed budget amount

•          Repeat transactions daily, weekly or monthly (Pro Upgrade required)

•          Editable spending and income categories

•          Reports give you easy visualization of where your money goes

•          Keep your data safe with Dropbox Backups (Pro Upgrade required)

•          Export transactions to CSV (Pro Upgrade required)

Download the App here

Wallet

Memorizing, storing and taking care of all your credit cards, vouchers, gift cards and other retail cards and their information is the built-in Wallet feature on your Lumia. There is no need for you to be juggling with so much information when all of this gets neatly stored in your digital wallet.

A secure place for you to store all digital versions of cards include Windows Store and Xbox gift cards. The wallet knows how to make your life simpler. To start up, all one requires is a Microsoft account.

There is a lot that this deep pocketed wallet app can store for you, such as:

•          Credit or debit cards

•          Boarding passes

•          Event tickets

•          Loyalty cards

•          Membership cards

•          Vouchers

•          Windows Store and Xbox gift cards

It’s time to swap your collection of cards this time, for something that you carry with you always-your Lumia aided with these apps. Download the app Here

PayPal

This app allows you to send and request money on the go, on your Lumia. With this well-designed app one is able to manage account in a more cost effective manner. It empowers you to check your balance, withdraw funds or view past transactions – anytime and anywhere just like you would on the PayPal website. You can also send money between other PayPal users and your friends.

The app can allow one to find local merchants and transact business with these merchants at the same time. Download the app here

Electricity customers to hit 3 million in a month, says Kenya Power

The country’s electricity consumers is rapidly growing with the total expected to hit three million by next month, Kenya Power Managing Director and CEO, Dr Ben Chumo has said.

 

Dr Chumo is optimistic that the Company will sustain the high rate of connectivity in the coming years owing to increased funding to ease connection costs following the recent Shs.13 billion loan from the African Development Bank.

He was speaking at the Company headquarters in Stima Plaza where he received over 5,000 applications for new power connections submitted by Member of Parliament for Butula Constituency, Hon. Michael Onyura.

Dr Chumo said Kenya Power has developed strategies to sustain the high rate of connectivity including adoption of line and transformer maximization, clustering of customers for ease of connection and adoption of a pre-investment policy whereby the Company subsidises connections whose quotations are below Shs.135,000.

Speaking during the meeting, Mr. Onyura said the constituents had taken a proactive approach by coming together to make joint applications during a two week exercise aptly named ‘Power to the People’ targeting over 10,000 applications. He said he would recommend use of Constituency Development Funds (CDF) to subsidise new connections in order to accelerate electrification of the area.

Airtel, Facebook partner to give Kenyans free internet access

Bharti Facebook Growth and Partnerships Eastern & Southern Africa Manager, Naheed Hirji shows Airtel Kenya CEO Adil El Youssefi the simplicity of accessing internet.org on Airtel network

Bharti Airtel has officially launched a partnership with Facebook to offer the Internet.org app to its pre-paid and post-paid customers in Kenya. Facebook’s Internet.org app will be providing a set of locally relevant basic internet services free of charge, making it easier for Kenyans to access the internet.   

Internet.org is a Facebook-led initiative with the goal of making affordable Internet access available to the two thirds of the world who are not yet connected and to bring the same opportunities to everyone that the connected third of the world has today.

The partnership is expected to have the ultimate goal of bringing internet connectivity to the unconnected Kenyans, hence offering everyone similar opportunities to access the internet. The project focuses on making access to the internet more affordable and allowing people to use data more efficiently. 

Speaking at a media briefing this morning, Airtel Kenya CEO Adil El Youssefi said that the partnership by Airtel and Facebook would not only accelerate internet penetration in the country but would also give customers the opportunity to access a suite of basic internet services in health, education, communication, finance, jobs and local information at no cost.    

“We are delighted to partner with Facebook to make essential internet services available to our customers. We believe that this partnership will go a long way in providing Kenyans with information that will help them create new opportunities and improve their lives. Through this, we will be one step closer to connecting thousands of people without internet access,” said Mr. El Youssefi.           

Chris Daniels, Vice President of Product for Internet.org at Facebook said, “Following our great success with the Internet.org app in Zambia, Facebook is excited to continue its partnership with Airtel to bring the Internet.org app to its customers in Kenya. We can make a big impact by making the internet accessible through this set of free basic services, which we hope will ultimately lead to more people coming online.”

As part of Facebook’s Internet.org app in Kenya, Airtel customers now have free access to:  AccuWeather; BBC News; BBC Swahili; BabyCenter & MAMA; BrighterMonday; Daily Nation; Ebola Information; Facebook; Facts for Life; Girl Effect; Jamii Forums; Messenger; OLX; Scholars4Dev; SuperSport; Toto Health; Wattpad; Wikipedia.

The partnership gives Airtel customers the freedom to access these basic services by visiting www.internet.orgor downloading the Internet.org app in the Google Play Store. Normal data charges will only apply when a user browses outside the set of free basic services.