Efficient Online Payment System? Think Skrill

TWS||Nick Waigwa

 

Dori Friend begins the 10^th Chapter of her E-Book, “Where The Big Dogs Roam”, with the following quotes, “Image is Everything”, “First Impressions Matter”, and “Perception is Reality”. 

In the same chapter  Friend notes, “Reputation can make or break individuals and companies.”

Reputation! Reputation! This a component that is ignored by some individuals and companies in the world where I reside.

You care less about your reputation and that of others? You simply need not to continue reading this post. I advise that you read something else.

I usually brush shoulders with some people when I expose their inability to protect their reputation.I write here because I am driven by the need to help the subjects here manage their reputation positively. No hard feelings.

I can now comfortably proceed to a point that I have purposed to put across because we are on the same wavelength and we have agreed that this is about building reputation.

For nearly a year now, I have been trying to understand the network marketing or direct selling business, and how people generate revenue from online freelance jobs. 

I have discovered that for one to receive payments online, or effect such it is almost a MUST to subscribe to an Online Payment System.

Online Payment Systems such as Skrill, are often linked to a subscriber’s electronic payment card. The electronic payment system plays a bridge’s role between the online payment system and the recipient’s or sender’s bank account. 

This digital solution is not as easy as it may sound. There are challenges that may arise. My first experience with an Online Payment System was in the last quarter of 2014. 

After months of soul searching, I signed up for a network marketing business whose product is travel. I would still recommend that you invest your time trying to understand how the travel club operates. 

Thus far, I have used a WorldVentures’ E-wallet, PayPal and the Skrill. 

The Nakumatt Global MasterCard

The person who succeeded to pitch and convince me to consider the travel network marketing business was very helpful. She counseled that I secure a MasterCard, as it would facilitate smooth remittance of membership fees and receipt of payments via the travel club’s E-wallet.

It was easier for me to have the old Nakumatt Card replaced with a MasterCard solution. The Nakumatt Global MasterCard is what they gave me. It is linked to an account at the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB). Whether Nakumatt does care about their reputation offline and online, is a story that their customer service and call center reps can narrate.

I tried effortlessly to understand why I could not access my cash in the Nakumatt Global MasterCard at some point. Not even my several visits to KCB customer service desk at KENCOM, Nairobi would get me a solution. 

I tried Nakumatt Nakumatt card centers along Moi Avenue, City Hall way and along the Thika road Super highway in vain.

INABILITY TO COPE WITH DISTRACTION A MAJOR CAUSE OF EXAM FAILURE

The Nakumatt staff could not resolve an inch the concerns I had. I am still waiting for a Nakumatt Global Call Center rep who promised to give me a call over three months ago. This is what I call ignorance on the importance of reputation in the 21^stcentury. 

I hope the Nakumatt will invest in upping their reputation management game. How I wish if I could access the little cash in the Nakumatt Global MasterCard with some interest or just a valid explanation as to what might have caused the hiccup, from a person who understands the system.

I hope the "the you need it, we've got it" does not  end up to literally mean they have everything including dysfunctional solutions. I know they can do better as they have always. In fact I hold high their reputation and that is why I have taken my quality time to put this staff online.Your good reputation should not be watered down by i simple challenge such as the one I have just highlighted.

PayPal Online Payment System

My next quick review is about PayPal. PayPal is very good. I admire their customer relations. I however had a problem accessing some cash that I had received as payment for an online voice talent job that I had completed. 

The job had been awarded through Odesk.com. By the way Odesk was recently re-branded to Upwork. The Upwork’s payment procedure is prompt. The only challenge for freelancers in Kenya who opt to receive dues via PayPal, is that they must be holders of Equity Bank accounts. 

I was compelled to transfer the cash from my PayPal account to a friend’s PayPal account. I received the cash after six months.  To avoid wasting time and money, make sure you have an Equity Bank account if you plan to use PayPal for your online transactions.

My suggestion to PayPal, diversify. Having services accessible to clients in Kenya through a single bank is very limiting. I know the Equity bank would love to control that market share but at the same time, I don’t think it would be harmful for other banks within Kenya to activate towards facilitating easy access to money that is wired to recipients in Kenya through PayPal.

The Skrill Online Payment System

Skrill is one Online Payment System that I would recommend to you if you are seriously interested in receiving or making payments online. 

When I discovered that part of the money that I had been paid for the assignment on upwork.com would take long to reach my pocket, I signed up for a Skrill account. 

The money got to my pocket in less than three days and there were no complications with linking up the Skrill account to my Visa Card and bank account. I like the skrill’s flexibility and speed.

Recently, I discovered that if you are in Kenya, you could link your Skrill account with a Safaricom MPESA account. This does make the work much easier. It is indeed another intrinsic reason why you should highly consider signing up for a Skrill Online Payment Solution now.

It is true that the digital revolution is taking the developing world by storm, but only those who are willing to move with the times are going to benefit from this revolution. 

Working with online solutions that have analogue tendencies would easily place one at the highest risk of missing the vessel to the land of success presented to us by technology advantage.

E&OE      

Modern Vs Traditional Food Buying

POST- 2015 Outcome Document’s Zero Draft has ‘many gaps on things that matter’, GCAP

Traditional Vs Modern Food Buying Solution

TWS|| Nick Waigwa

I recently I received both good and disturbing news. The good news is the confirmation of the pontiff’s visit to Kenya. The sad news is about how farm produce is going to waste in some parts of Kenya as the cost of food in cities and major towns continue to sky rocket.

I will be blogging about Pope Francis’ visit to Kenya in the coming days but for now I get to the bit about wastage of food at the expense of farmer’s livelihoods and the consumers food security.

As a farmer who knows what it takes to journey with a crop to its maturity, I must confess that the most painful experience is to see how buyers treat farmers with disdain and subject them to dehumanizing prices. In fact it is only in Kenya where the cost of farming inputs is never factored when the costing of farm produce is done. The reality of incurred costs get to life once the produce has reached the markets.

A couple of days ago, I gave my mother a call to find out how they were doing. Usually she would start with all the good staff then get to the negative ones. She was disappointed that her tomatoes did not fetch the money she had expected.

If I may quote her  “ sai nyanya huku zina pigwa mateke, Hata hakuna magari ya wanunuzi.” For the sake of those who don’t understand Swahili, what she meant is that tomatoes are going to waste and there are no buyers. Tomato is usually bought by investors from cities through brokers or middlemen who impose dehumanizing pric
es on farmers.

Disturbed by this reality I took time to visit a local retail market on mission to establish how much tomato is retailing at. I also sought to find out how much green maize and dry beans were retailing. My finding was mind boggling.

With all due respect to the value chain existing between the farmer and the consumer you will not require a financial analyst to tell you that something is wrong. There are two casualties in this exploitation the farmer on one side and the consumer on the other end.

A grade 1 tomato in the local market I visited is retailing at KSH 10, one comb of green maize is retailing at KSH 25 and Kg of the Yellow Bean as is commonly called is retailing at KSH 100.

According to those on the ground in areas where these items come from; a large crate of tomato is as I write retailing at between KSH 1500 to 2000. A person who understands the large crate I am talking about would agree with me that the crate carries over 200 tomatoes.

A comb of green maize in Loitokitok hardly goes beyond KSH 10. The last time I checked it was KSH 5. The buyers go for the best and if one is not careful they steal close to a quarter of the harvest. A kg of the “yellow bean” would hardly go beyond KSH40 but shoots to KSH100 once it gets to the city.

It is only a fool by choice who would not be able to see the level of exploitation. Farmers continue to suffer losses as consumers get exposed to food insecurity and malnutrition because of opportunistic investors who thrive on other people’s sweat. 

As the lady who sold a comb of green maize to me said, “anaye lima na anaye nunua hapa sokoni ndio wanaumia” she meant that those who suffer most are the farmers and the consumer. It is very hard to justify the disparity between the prices of food at the producers farm and the cost of the same once it reaches the market.

A friend from foreign country I chose not publish here once told me. ‘Kenyan are stupidly patient’ whether that is true or not, I have chosen not to be stupidly patient on this one. As an African leader, I am one by the way, I chose to heed St. John Paul the II's advice to African leaders when he visited Kenya in 1995. He told African leaders to ‘use all their wisdom’. You too are a leader and I have no doubt that you are going to put all your wisdom on duty.

The time to fully utilize that wisdom is now. If you are interested in having a positive influence on the rural economy and the livelihood of the farmers who produce the food you eat, this is the time to for us to say enough is enough.

This is the thing. I am inviting you join the Garden to City Food buying Solution. You will not only contribute to the welfare of the farmer and contribute to improving the rural economy but save a great deal of your money. Money that ends up in the pockets of exploitative markets at your expense and that of the farmer
.
Together, those who are pretty serious about what they eat and consider to join the club will enjoy the benefit of buying better directly at reasonable prices directly from the source. This solution is for a concerned person like me who knows that saving as little as 25 per day for 365 days is enough to buy a goat end of year party or sort  out back to school shopping in January.

If you are pretty serious about adjusting your food buying behavior this solution is for you. It is an alternative to the traditional way of bringing food to your kitchen. It is a baby who is promising to grow big and better as the membership grows.

Keep watching this space for more on the benefits and how we are going to go about it. Our affiliate program is attractive and you should just be in to benefit from the discount package that come with it.
Are you in? Send an email at gardentocity@gmail.com

Parents driving their Children Crazy?

Parents driving their Children Crazy?

Knowing that you have a responsibility to impart the necessary life skills in your child as a parent and understanding when you should actually start doing so are two different things. A parent in the 21^st Century has a lot to do and the parent child contact hours are consumed each day by the demands of work life and busyness.

Parents this days hardly give their children the desired attention. The expectation by parents that teachers in school will substitute them on some parenting responsibilities is an effort in futility. Teachers have much on their desk including their own children to look after.

Some of the parents we have interacted with in our Transformed Me programs, tell us that their children are driving them crazy. On the flip side, their children have also told us that parents are driving them crazy. Some even believe that their parents are ‘narrow minded’ and ‘old-fashioned’.

The 21st century child appears to be in a catch 22 situation and unaware of who is supposed to be guiding them as they navigate through life. Is it the house help, Teacher, family driver, church ministers, Internet? The parent is also lost and perceived as a stranger by children.

[Cardinal John Njue calls for Protection of the Dignity of the family]

At Transformed Me we know for a fact that parents have a key role to play in bringing up responsible children. We know that if parents play their parenting role responsibly children will live a more meaningful life.

They acknowledge that something is wrong and those who have benefited from our programs have always expressed the desire to learn. They want to know how they can maximize on the available time to make a positive impact in the lives of their children. Our Key message to them has been "it is not about quantity but the quality time they spend with their children" We have responded to this desire by organizing one to one sessions with parents; in schools, churches and through the media.

The demand for this information is real and overwhelming. To respond to this need, Transformed Me has produced audio CDs on Responsible parenting under the following titles.

1. Parenting in the 21^st Century
2. When and How to Teach Your Child Responsibility
3. Journeying with Your Child Through Adolescence
4. Teaching Your Child Decision Making Skills

These productions are a must to a parent who is interested in leaving behind a meaningful heritage. A parent who has the interest of their children at heart will definitely find this audio presentation resourceful and a friendly companion in his or her parenting journey. 

Get in touch with Catherine Kisasa Mothonde on 0722799261for your copy at KSH 250. 

Downloadable audio presentations will be available online in due course.

Score Higher Grades With Ease

Nick Waigwa

Many if not most candidates desire to pass examinations. The candidates we have encountered with during our Transformed Me training say their focus is on scoring higher grades. After all, none of them including yourself would plan to fail in life. We all want to pass with flying colors – whatever that means.

Having the desire to be successful and keeping one’s eye on the compelling reason to a successful outcome, are simply not enough. We all have a responsibility to take necessary action towards scoring higher grades. Success belongs to the serious. 

As a mater of fact, whatever it is that you do to pass examinations has to be stress free.

Most people panic before exams, but you need not to panic. We have prepared very informative audio presentations to complement the content we deliver in schools and during our life skills training events over the holidays.

The content will equip as a candidate with requisite skills on how to prepare effectively for examinations. 

The audio presentations produced by NickPoint Media for the Transformed Me program, feature Transformed Me’s Catherine Kisasa Muthonde – A professional teacher with over 30 years of teaching experience, a qualified counseling psychologist, team building expert and a very powerful motivational speaker. 

She talks about what it takes to prepare efficiently for exams and how to write the examination paper for higher grades with ease. She also has an insightful input on success oriented teaching skills for teachers. As you know teachers play an instrumental role in a candidate's preparation for examinations

The following audio CD titles are available. They are all yours for the taking:

1. Smart Candidate: Effective Study Skills for Higher Grades
2. Success Oriented Teaching: Helping your Students Attain Full Potential
3. Smart Candidate: The success Strategy You should Know

Each CD will cost you KSH 250 bob only.

We at Transformed Me wish you the very best of luck in your examinations! Get in touch with Catherine Kisasa Muthonde on 0722 799261 or write to transformedmekenya@hotmail.com