INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
used mobile-money product.As TechCrunch reported, one of the first objectives of Alpha was to build upon the success of M-Pesa.As a telco,
The fintech product has 20.5 million customers across a network of 176,000 agents.While these stats have put Safaricom in a coveted
For years, Collymore pressed his company to diversify product and revenue streams.Through in-house development and partnerships, Safaricom
added to its mobile and fintech network consumer and small business-based products, such as ride-hail app Little and website services.In
perspective, Alpha was something to watch, as corporate incubators in Africa were (and continue to be) a relatively new component across the
shaping new digital offerings.In 2018, the incubator rolled out its first product, a social networking platform called Bonga, to augment
M-Pesa.Because M-Pesa was already established as a commercial network, the idea was to amplify that by creating more social media-type
momentum into 2018, before the innovation incubator lost two of its biggest backers.First, Kamal Bhattacharya exited Safaricom and his
position of lead of Alpha in October 2018
year after a fight with cancer.
Alpha said farewell to another senior figure in August when Huston Malande left
more likely be morphed into the larger Safaricom bureaucracy rather than shut down completely, to avoid negative news that an abrupt closure
would bring.TechCrunch asked Safaricom directly on the future of Alpha, and specifically if it would confirm or deny reports the innovation
incubator could shut down
