British Airways Kenya, Safaricom reward five SMEs through Emerging Enterprises Initiative

British Airways and Safaricom have rewarded five Kenyan start-ups in an essay competition through Emerging Enterprises Initiative.

The five companies falling under SME categories each received British Airways’ 48,000 On Business points, an equivalent of a return Business Class ticket to London and Kshs 100,000 worth of Safaricom airtime to promote their businesses.

The five winners Jiinue Holdings, Tiny Totos, Ukall Limited, Pegg Entertainment, and Zamoyo Limited were among 100 firms that entered the competition. Safaricom’s Director of Enterprise Business Unit Rita Okuthe said the winners will also receive free data connectivity at their offices.

“The winners were those with the best stories, a clear action plan and the most original ideas,” said Ms Radhika Moolraj, director of the British Chamber of Commerce Kenya, who chose the winners.

To participate, entrants were required to submit a 300-word essay explaining how their businesses would benefit from a trip to any of the 114 British Airways destinations.

They also had to have been registered customers of Safaricom’s Zidisha Biashara service and signed up British Airways On Business programme.

“This is an SME-driven economy, as the sector provides upto 80 per cent of Kenya’s employment,” said Ms Okuthe.

The Emerging Enterprise Initiative was launched by British Airways and Safaricom in November 2015 as an effort to provide international exposure for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector. The campaign aims at giving SME’s a boost by offering them access to international markets or a chance to source their supplies from source markets, at the most affordable and competitive rates.