Safaricom has partnered with supermarket chain Naivas to sell its wireless home Internet routers in a bid to widen its distribution network amid intensifying competition in the broadband market.
Naivas becomes the second retailer, after Quickmart, to partner with the telco in a distribution deal—marking a shift from Safaricom’s traditional sales channels through dealers, its retail shops, and online platform Masoko.
The deals come amid intensifying competition in the broadband internet market, with new entrants such as Elon Musk’s Starlink threatening the longstanding dominance of Safaricom in the industry.
“It marks a major milestone in our journey as Safaricom to expand access to high-speed Internet through both traditional and alternative channels,” said Safaricom Chief Consumer Business Officer Fawzia Ali.
Safaricom is counting on Naivas’ 110 stores, along with the 61 outlets owned by Quickmart, to expand its reach to consumers outside the capital in the race for market leadership.
Currently, Safaricom controls about 34.3 percent of the fixed internet market, down from 36.2 percent two years ago, while the newest entrant in the industry, Starlink, has so far claimed 0.8 percent of the market.
Last year, Safaricom improved its speed packages without raising prices, a move viewed by analysts as a means to entice more users amid increasing rivalry in the industry.
This followed a failed attempt to have the Communications Authority of Kenya, which regulates Internet service providers, ban Starlink from operating in Kenya.
Safaricom is currently the only Internet service provider using the retail chains as a distribution network, while others like Starlink have partnered with e-commerce firms like Jumia to distribute their routers.
The move also comes as rival Airtel plans to enter the home Internet market with fibre-to-the-home service, which is expected to heighten competition for Safaricom in one of its most profitable segments.
In the year to March, Safaricom saw a 12.9 percent increase in its revenue from fixed internet services to hit Sh17.2 billion, accounting for 23 percent of its total revenues for the year.
