This is an interesting development! Kenya Commercial Bank or KCB as they are better known and Safaricom have launched a marketing partnership called “Laptops for All” according to the news today. Basically, you can pay as little as Kes. 2,735.00 per month in loan repayments to KCB for 12 months to purchase a laptop.

The kicker in the deal and where Safaricom comes in is that the offer includes a free 3G modem with an initial 40MB of free data. If you look at this partnership what you can see is a win-win where KCB grows its loan portfolio and Safaricom gets more subscribers on its 3G Internet service which incidentally is still one of the most expensive in the marketplace on a per megabyte basis.

However, seems to me there is a hidden rider for KCB in the Laptops for All campaign. I have bolded it as per the terms and conditions below:

• Identify the laptop you wish to purchase from any Safaricom Retail Center near you.
• Go to any KCB branch countrywide and apply for the “Laptops for All” loan. This offer is open to both KCB and non KCB account holders.
• If you do not already have an account with KCB, simply open one at your nearest branch and apply for the loan.
• KCB will give you a voucher which you will use to collect your laptop from a Safaricom Retail Center.

Well, there it is. Safaricom gets your data and KCB gets your bank account. Pretty nifty if you ask me. Its not the front-end offer that matters – its the back-end “total customer lifetime value” they are both after, and they will get it!