Kenya’s transport economy runs on long days and risky work by boda boda riders and ride-hailing drivers, most of whom lack insurance or any safety net. On Tuesday, Safaricom, the country’s largest telco, launched bundles that mix data, airtime, insurance, and even fuel discounts to offer some stability in a trade that rarely provides it.
The packages bring together several players. Safaricom provides mobile networks and reach. Turaco, an insurance start-up in Nairobi, covers health and life risks through a plan called Tuunza Mapato, developed alongside the telco. Shell stations will provide fuel discounts, while ride-hailing platforms will benefit if drivers stay active and online. The goal is to combine services into a package that riders and drivers might actually use, instead of each company acting independently.
Insurance is the core of the product, allowing riders and drivers to pay weekly or monthly premiums in exchange for cash payouts if admitted to a hospital, and funeral support for dependents if they pass away.
A boda boda rider can choose between daily options of KES 50 ($0.38) for data and airtime, or larger weekly and monthly bundles that include insurance, such as KES 1,000 ($7.70) for 8GB of data, credit, and cover. Drivers have their own package at KES 2,000 ($15.40) a month, which includes insurance, 25GB of data, and KES 300 ($2.30) in airtime.
Still, affordability remains a challenge. Most boda riders earn between KES 500 ($3.85) and KES 1,500 ($11.50) a day. Ride-hailing drivers face their own struggles with fuel prices and platform commissions. For many, paying KES 1,000 ($7.70) or KES 2,000 ($15.40) upfront monthly is tough when daily earnings are already stretched.
Two riders who spoke to said the insurance’s value will only be clear if payouts are made quickly and fairly.
“The insurance aspect is not new, as Safaricom has been trying to create awareness about it. It was only officially announced today, but we have known about it for a while,” said rider Paul Sakwa on a phone call.
Kenya has more than 2.4 million motorcycles in operation and tens of thousands of ride-hailing drivers. The sector generates close to KES 1 billion ($7.7 million) in income daily, according to a Safaricom disclosure, yet most workers have no safety net. While Safaricom’s bundles don’t solve broader issues such as low pay or road safety, they do introduce a structured form of cover that reduces some of the risks riders and drivers face.
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