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Blaze Invests Millions in Campus Customer Service Zones

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NAIROBI, Kenya -- Safaricom’s (NSE: SCOM) youth network has today unveiled the first of seven BLAZE Campus Experience Zones, which are expected to deliver an enhanced customer experience to the brand’s subscribers.

Speaking at The Catholic University of Eastern Africa where the first BLAZE Campus Experience Zone was launched, Sylvia Mulinge, Safaricom Director for Consumer Business, said the investment was in line with the business’ commitment to meeting subscribers’ unique needs.

“Customer service is at the heart of our operations. We want the youth to know and see for themselves that BLAZE is a brand that listens when they speak; a brand that understands their needs and is ready to invest significant amounts of money to meet these needs,” said Ms. Mulinge.

“Since launching BLAZE in May 2016 the number of youth on our network has grown two million. With this growth has come the need to provide specialized customer care to enhance their experience on our network, a request that our subscribers have made clear to us,” added Ms. Mulinge.

BLAZE intends to invest close to KES 50 million to roll out the seven experience zones in universities across the country.

Each experience zone consists of customer service desks, a dedicated team trained specifically to handle requests from BLAZE subscribers, a retail section with great value BLAZE devices and accessories, and a gaming zone where customers can relax and unwind while waiting to be served.

By partnering with learning institutions, the brand also plans to provide opportunities for meaningful learning experiences through internships, during which students will learn various skills such as customer service, sales and marketing.

“We are very pleased to be the first institution to welcome BLAZE onto our campus. This partnership provides a great opportunity for our students to not only benefit from readily available products and services, we see it as a chance to prepare learners for the workplace by exposing them to one of the strongest brands in our country,” said Prof. Justus Mbae, Vice Chancellor – The Catholic University of Eastern Africa.

Other universities set to host the experience zones are: Egerton University, Mt. Kenya University, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Pwani University, Moi University and the Technical University of Mombasa.

“Each of these institutions will give us access to thousands of students, making them a great choice for our customer experience initiatives while at the same time enabling us bring our brand closer to the youth, rather than asking them to come to us,” said Ms. Mulinge.

BLAZE is a sub-brand of Safaricom and was created to give the youth aged 26 years and below products, services and benefits tailored specifically to meet their everyday needs.

A first of its kind platform in Kenya, East and Central Africa, BLAZE was founded on what Kenyan youth say is most important to them: freedom, empowerment and success.

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