Safaricom has announced an expansion of its collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to enhance digital experiences for Kenyan consumers using Generative AI. The partnership is part of Safaricom’s ongoing digital transformation efforts, which utilize AWS cloud technology to implement AI and machine learning solutions.
The telecom company has developed AI/ML capabilities that have already improved customer experiences in connectivity, financial, and digital-lifestyle services. These improvements are the result of Safaricom’s investment in internal training and upskilling its engineers and data scientists with AWS support to include Generative AI skills.
“We’re committed to supporting Safaricom’s teams with the tools and training needed to develop Generative AI solutions that serve their customers effectively. The results we’re already seeing in areas like fraud detection and customer service automation demonstrate how cloud technology and Generative AI can deliver measurable improvements and impactful changes,” said Fabio Cerone, GM of Telco EMEA at AWS.
Since 2022, the partnership between Safaricom and AWS has focused on accelerating cloud adoption along with leveraging AI/ML capabilities. A notable application is in fraud detection and prevention, achieving up to 89% accuracy in detecting social engineering fraud using graph neural networks.
“Delivering exceptional digital experiences is essential for thriving in today’s highly competitive landscape,” said Dilip Pal, Chief Financial Officer at Safaricom PLC. “With AWS’s innovative cloud and AI services as a force multiplier, we’re empowering our customers with the frictionless, personalized and on-demand experiences they deserve across our world-class network and digital services.”
Safaricom’s Zuri chatbot currently utilizes AI to handle various customer queries efficiently while reducing traffic to its Care Centre. Together with AWS, Safaricom aims to explore further opportunities for simplifying consumer processes, offering personalized services, minimizing wait times, and ensuring first-time resolution of queries.
The agility provided by AWS will allow Safaricom to accelerate bringing ideas into production through big data services on AWS platforms such as Amazon SageMaker, Amazon SageMaker Jumpstart, advanced Large Language Models available via Amazon Bedrock, along with other cloud solutions for effective computing and storage.
