Safaricom Hosts 2nd Annual Engineering Summit

Safaricom hosted the second edition of its Engineering Summit, with the theme of “Igniting Africa’s Digital Renaissance.”

The two-day forum, attended by over 800 industry players in person and thousands more online, aims to expand on the first edition’s learnings and triumphs.

Over 53 Safaricom campus tours, hackathons, and innovation weeks are among the summit’s projects.

The Industry Digital Talent Programme has helped over 617 people graduate from these programmes.

“This event, aptly named Safaricom Decode 2.0, is not just a conference but a dynamic platform that empowers Safaricom engineers to showcase their technical prowess and connect with the broader tech community,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO of Safaricom.

“It is a testament to our commitment to being the Tech Partner of choice for Digital and Creatives. Kenya is a youthful country with immense opportunities,” he added.

“By combining the power of tech and purpose, we intend to tap into the ability and skill set of the youth, supporting them to take full advantage of the digital space and gain immensely from it.”

Safaricom launched three new platforms at the summit, including the Entertainment Hub, the Safaricom Developer Portal, and the newly updated M-PESA Daraja API.

The Safaricom Entertainment Hub is a customer content portal that aggregates all Safaricom content, including video, music, games, and education.

The hub will be a one-stop shop for a range of content, with a seamless payment system.

The Developer Portal, on the other hand, is a web-based platform that serves as a central hub for software developers, providing necessary information and tools to expedite the development process while increasing efficiency and productivity.

The portal provides a user-friendly and dynamic interface, boosting the developer experience while maintaining code quality and security.

The M-PESA Daraja API Gateway Developers Portal has been updated with a hybrid cloud architecture that allows for enhanced API billing and monetization capabilities, self-service ticketing for API issues, and updated API documentation.

It provides a better developer experience for customers, with customer and partner-initiated transactions being processed even faster.

The telco also demonstrated the Digital Twin, an AI-powered device that creates a lifelike digital clone of a human in the form of audio or video that responds to new demands much like the real thing.

“I am very impressed by what I have seen here. I am now confident that I can ask Safaricom and all you techies to help Decode the government of Kenya. As you know, the government has created a comprehensive digital agenda to transform the country’s economy and society through technology,” said Koskei.

“The government has also launched several digital platforms to improve service delivery and enhance transparency and accountability. Overall, we are focused on leveraging technology to achieve sustainable development and improve the quality of life for its citizens and are confident that the youth can carry this agenda,” he added.

In the previous year, the Safaricom Engineering Community expanded to over 5,000 members across Kenya.

Safaricom plans to train and certify 1,400 members from various countries in a one-year programme called ‘Accelerate by Safaricom,’ where they will learn various skill sets such as fintech, IoT, robotic process automation, cyber security, software engineering, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, analytics, and 5G.

Following graduation, the top 200 students will be granted internships with Safaricom, while the remaining students will be placed in the Industry Digital Talent Programme.