James Njagi Waweru, 32, on Friday became the lucky winner of an apartment in Nairobi's Kahawa West estate courtesy of Safaricom's M-Pesa.
Mr Njagi, who works as a metal artisan in Gikomba Market received the keys to the apartment in a ceremony that was held on location with fellow traders and Safaricom staff.
Accompanied by his wife and daughter, the lucky winner attributed the win to his frequent usage of the mobile money transfer platform.
"M-Pesa is convenient in our jua kali trade as the service enables us to receive payments from customers and to make payments for our business supplies.
[caption caption="James Njagi, Safaricom, Maisha ni M-pesa tu winner waves in joy after a handover ceremony of a two bedroom apartment along Kamiti road Nairobi by Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, Director, Finance services (right)"]
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"My frequent usage has contributed to my earning of multiple entries in the ongoing promotion.
"However, it was quite a surprise when I received the call from Safaricom that I had won the apartment," Njagi relayed shortly after receiving his prize.
The promotion began three weeks ago with the more than 28.6 million customers and 150,000 agents earning points from qualifying transactions, which then have gone into weekly draws.
A statement from the leading mobile network service provider outlines that more than 140,000 customers have won daily and weekly instant cash prizes so far in the draw.
Some of the prizes include Ksh1000, Ksh2,000, Ksh5,000 and Ksh10,000. An additional 1,280 M-PESA agents have received weekly prizes of Ksh10,000 in float and airtime.
"We began this promotion to reward our customers for their loyalty over the last 11 years and to recognise them for their contribution in making M-PESA most successful mobile money service in the world.
[caption caption="James Njagi, Safaricom, Maisha ni M-pesa tu winner waves after a handover ceremony of a two bedroom apartment along Kamiti road Nairobi by Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, Director, Finance services (right). With them is Josephine Wamuhu, wife to James and their daughter"]
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"Today’s winner reflects the service’s ambition of transforming the lives of our customers," Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, Safaricom's Financial Services Director stated.
Six more houses are yet to be given to six lucky customers over the next six weeks.
[caption caption="Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, Director, Financial Services Safaricom (left) with James Njagi, Safaricom, Maisha ni M-pesa tu winner and his wife, Josephine Wamuhu tours the winners apartment after a handover ceremony in Nairobi"]
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[caption caption="James Njagi, Safaricom, Maisha ni M-pesa tu winner, his wife Josephine Wamuhu and their daughter enjoys a light moment in front of a mirror in their new apartment after a handover ceremony in Nairobi"]
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Here's a video of the Maisha ni M-Pesa promotion.
