Safaricom and the Postal Corporation of Kenya have partnered around the MPost service, with a goal of rolling out digital Post Office Boxes to more than 5 million additional customers across the country.
“Kenya’s economy is increasingly digitizing leading to the growth of online delivery of goods and services. Posta’s logistical capabilities and Post Office branch network are well placed to meet this shift,” said Michael Joseph, chief executive, Safaricom.
“We are therefore coming together to create value for our customers by empowering them to conveniently and affordably receive parcels and goods wherever they may be across the country” said Michael Joseph, CEO, Safaricom.
Under the partnership, Safaricom customers can visit mpost.co.ke or dial *234# (*234*1*9#) and conveniently register for a Post Office Box linked to their mobile number. The service will be priced at an affordable Ksh 300 annually.
When registering for MPost, customers will have the option of selecting which Post Office to pick their deliveries from by keying the Postal Code of the particular branch. Customers can also change their preferred Post Office at no additional cost by dialling *234#.
“We have invested in the MPost innovation to meet the shifting demands of our customers in a modern, digital world. This partnership will enable Safaricom’s more than 34 million customers to access postal services from the 625 Postal outlets spread across the country, directly from their mobile phones,” Dan Kagwe, Post Master General and CEO, Postal Corporation of Kenya said.
MPost box numbers will be in the format “P. O. Box 254XXXXXXXXX” where XXXXXXXXX denotes the customer’s mobile phone number.
Cabinet Secretary for Information and Communication Technology Joe Mucheru said that he is proud to state that Posta Kenya has identified the importance of technology by developing new ground-breaking products that complement its core mandate of delivering financial, communication and distribution solutions to its customers.
“This partnership demonstrates the confidence that Safaricom has in Posta Kenya’s capacity in provision and delivery of efficient services to its customers, ” Mucheru added.
Customers can also choose additional services such as physical delivery of mail to their doorstep, or mail pickup for delivery. Both services will be offered at an additional fee per delivery based on the source or destination.
The partnership looks to address numerous challenges faced by Kenyans around postal services and logistics.
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