4 Kenyan Companies Using Whatsapp Chatbots to Automate Messaging

A 2020 data report on Social Media User Trends published by Global Web Index shows that Kenya has the highest percentage of Internet users on WhatsApp. This is in comparison to the rest of the world.

Come to think of it, WhatsApp is opening doors for Kenyan businesses to reach out in a conversational way to their customers.

And one business sector that could heavily tap into this is banking.

In an article on the case for bot usage in banking, Isaca.org publishes that ‘bots have become the new labor workforce of digital banking.’

But WhatsApp chatbots are not only effective in banking but also in other industries including FMCG, healthcare, telcos, and even in investments.

And if you thought that Kenya was not technically mature enough for chatbots to start taking the labor out of human hands, then think again.

Some Kenyan companies have already started using this technology to reap the benefits that come with it. 

4 WhatsApp Chatbots in Kenya

Let’s dig into 4 Kenyan companies using bot technology to automate conversations with their WhatsApp customers.

1. Equity

On 24th May, 2022, Equity bank launched Eva, a chatbot that answers your banking queries without the need to visit a branch or calling up the customer care desk.

What we loved about the chatbot is the enhanced security such that it will ask you to enter your PIN everytime you ask for sensitive information such as your bank balance. The autoresponder will also prompt you to delete those statements once you have read them.

This is indeed cool, right?

Because well, you do not want someone accessing your phone to be able to get such private information without your consent.

2. Koko Club

The Koko Club bot will give you details on reduced prices and discounts for everyday products that are on offer during the week. It will also tell you where to get the products from.

As a member of the Koko club, you can also opt-in to receive promotional SMSes from the company. The bot also registers new members into the Koko club and tells you of the nearest Koko agent in your area.

Koko also gives you the option to chat with a human agent just in case, not all your questions are answered by the AI prompts.

What we love about the Koko Club bot is its ability to return images and Google map links when you ask it for products on offer as well as the location of the nearest agent.

3. Zuri

Famously represented in a professional caricature, Zuri is a chatbot owned by Safaricom PLC that will call you by name and give you prompts to respond to.

4. Leo

Owned by ICEA Lion, Leo is a WhatsApp chatbot that answers your investment questions. It will onboard new customers to ICEA Lion’s money market fund as well as respond to questions on statements, and withdrawals for existing customers. Of course, it will need you to give it your ID number so that it can generate all these financial answers.

Leo gives you the option to chat with an ICEA Lion agent just in case you do not get all the help you need from the chatbot.

Wrap up on the use of WhatsApp chatbots in Kenya

We have explored just a few of the Kenyan companies that are making good use of WhatsApp chatbots. We have seen that it is not just the banking sector that has embraced this technology but also other companies in FMCG, telecommunication and even insurance.

Our company AXIS is ready to hold your hands if you feel that the WhatsApp chatbot technology could be a game-changer for your organization. Our team of software engineers will help you ideate, design and develop an intelligent bot that is able to deliver custom messaging for your organization.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJJz9G4vgA0

The process begins with creating a Whatsapp Business API that allows you to receive Whatsapp Business messages from your customers on the platform. From there, we come up with a flow of what you want the autoresponder to do.