Africa's Talking alternatives in Kenya

Despite the fast-paced digital transformation in Kenya, businesses still widely rely on SMS to communicate to their consumers due to the savory benefits of SMS marketing:

• High Open Rates: 98% of text messages are opened, compared to only 20% of emails.

• Instant Communication: SMS messages are typically read within 3 minutes.

• Personalized Engagement: Messages can be tailored to each customer’s preferences and behavior.

• Increased Conversions: SMS marketing campaigns have an average 45% conversion rate.

• Cost-Effective: SMS marketing is budget-friendly compared to traditional advertising channels.

Africa's Talking as a service provider has been very prominent for:

• Reliability since it’s Kenyan based

• Easy to use API that supports Multiple channels other than SMS but also USSD, voice and airtime

• Multiple products under SMS, like bulk SMS and two - way SMS

• Very transparent in terms of pricing and the value a business gets from each set price.

However, with the rise of innovation and creativity, many others have come up with bigger and better options in the line of:

• Cost comparison

• Added features

• Successful delivery rates (Reliability)

• API and integration

• Friendly and easy to use interfaces among others

Let’s get a brief insight on these players and the role they have played in the SMS marketing field.

Trembi Campaigns

This platform offers an elevated marketing solution powered by a marketing automation engine

• Bulk SMS sending – Send messages to millions of people instantly

• Personalization – craft the short and carefully thought-out message you want to send to your clients.

• Segmentation – Choose which industry, which department, which management level you want to target

• Messaging API - enables you send a transactional / promotional SMS via API with absolute ease. They are sent instantly, reliably and precisely. Can be used for billing messages, SMS analytics, real time tracking, trigger sign in, sign up or forgot password messages.

• Automated follow ups – helps you automate your messages to your leads and schedule them for follow up

• Analytics and reporting – to help measure effectiveness of your campaign in regard to open rates, click-through rates and conversion rates. You get a real time report on what has been delivered, opened or even failed.  

Celcom Africa:

• Have focused their platform on affordability making it very attractive for large volumes across Kenya.

• It’s best known for its reliability since it is based in Kenya

• Fully supported by local mobile networks

• Their API ensures fast and efficient message delivery to multiple recipients

Ora mobile

• Offers bulk SMS for not only Businesses but also organizations, politicians, associations, SACCOs and many more

• Competitive price even for other services like Short codes, USSD and Corporate Ring back tones

• Convenient solution since Bulk SMS is backed by Branded Sender ID and credits

• They have advanced local support since they are based in Kenya

TextSMS Kenya

• Offers two-way SMS communication services from your internet enabled computer

• Has a global market presence in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi

• It boasts of Efficiently and consistently providing value while added and interactive communication services whilst maintaining high standards.

Twilio:

• Platform is multi – channel: It supports not only SMS but also WhatsApp, email among others

• And globally reliable: Accessible anywhere in the world

• Has flexible pay-as-you go pricing

Let us dive into what they do the least and the most in comparison to Africa's Talking

Service provider	Strengths	Weaknesses
Trembi Campaigns	Multi-channel platform that has unified WhatsApp, email and SMS Marketing Price is very competitive and tailored for SMS marketing to support business that may only need SMS support	Offers a wide range of options like segmentation, personalization among others, a small-scale user may find it overwhelming
Celcom Africa	Price is very competitive Local support since it is Kenyan based High deliverability	Does not have international presence May not offer other services beyond SMS
Ora mobile	Offers bulk SMS to not only businesses but different groups Have mastered creativity while leveraging the power of SMS technology Great customer support systems	They are based in Kenya, may not have international presence The extras offered on the SMS package may make it a little pricy for
TextSMS Kenya	They have a strengthened presence in East Africa Multi-channel solutions provider, that is, SMS, short code, USSD	May not be price friendly for small users May not provide broader coverage for services like short code and USSD
Twilio	Flexible pricing, you only pay for what you use. One flexible platform combining all channels used by your customers Broader international coverage	Does not have direct operator connections in Kenya and thus may lack the local connectivity Mainly charges in Dollars which may not be favorable due to foreign exchange fluctuations

Ultimately, to best choose a service provider to use

1. Take note of your volumes. For larger volumes it would be best to lean towards Trembi Campaigns for the automation and Celcom Africa for affordability.

2.   Do a test drive with about two or 3 service providers and see which suits your objective

3. Factor in all costs involved whether it is in the set up initially or in the long run, for example business interested in SMS only may find it cumbersome to rely on Ora mobile given the extra features provided.

4. If you are looking for multi – channel service, it is best to use a service provider that offers a 360-messaging platform for all applications like Trembi.com to enable you scale your business to greater heights while operating within your budget.