Orange Kenya launches emergency credit benefit

VALUE ADDED SERVICES

Telkom Kenya - Orange has unveiled an advance airtime top-up benefit, PEWA, which will enable its customers to receive emergency credit. 

Company CEO Mickael Ghossein says the service will provide advance credit to subscribers, payable within 24 hours with no interest charged. 

PEWA credit will be valid for 90 days and can be accessed by customers who have less than KSh5 on their mobile phones. The lending category will allow Orange customers to borrow KSh15.

“This new benefit will be under continuous review, based on customer demand, as we seek to improve our value proposition to our loyal customers,” said Ghossein.  

To access the benefit, Orange subscribers will need to dial *133#. PEWA can be used for both on-net and off-net calls; SMSs, Data, as well as other value added services including subscription to free calls on Holla, the company’s flagship all inclusive daily bundled offer. 
PEWA, which can be accessed by Orange Mobile prepaid customers, will be free for the first 24-hours after the issuance of the credit advance, after which a service charge of 10 per cent will be charged.

“PEWA enhances the list of comprehensive offerings that complement our products and services,” said Ghossein; adding that PEWA will boost the company’s loyalty programme – Orange Ziada, that has been tailor made to meet the individual needs of the Orange customer. Orange customers currently enjoy a host of bonus options including airtime, data, off-net and on-net SMSs, as well as free value added services ranging from video, music and ringtone downloads.    

Orange says the launch of PEWA follows the release of the Consumers Federation of Kenya’s (COFEK) mobile network operators’ Quality of Service study, which found Orange to be the only provider among the top 20 percentile networks for voice performance in Nairobi. The report that was conducted by Phimetrics Audit Services, also termed Kenya as a market with high mobile centricity and lower income, thereby requiring mobile operators to improve services while maintaining reasonable price levels to maintain and realise growth projections.