Okoa Jahazi is a service by Safaricom that lets you access airtime on credit and pay later. Considering the fact that most of us have at one point desperately needed airtime but were unable to purchase some due to one reason or the other, this service is helpful at such times.

This post will basically give you a breakdown of the service plus highlight on its pro’s and con’s.

Have you ever tried requesting for airtime from this service but you were informed that you didn’t qualify? Well, like any credit facility, there are certain qualification criteria’s to be fulfilled. Below are those belonging to Okoa Jahazi:

• To qualify for the service, you mobile number must have been active on Safaricom for at least 6 months.
• Your airtime balance must be less than KES 2 for you to qualify.
• The amount you request for must be equivalent to your airtime spend for the last 7 days. Take instance you request for KES 100, to qualify for this amount you must have used airtime worth KES 100 over the last 7 days.
• To qualify for you must have repaid all previously acquired airtime on credit.
• You cannot request for Okoa Jahazi if you have an outstanding balance.
• As a requirement, you must repay airtime advanced to you within 72 hours, failure to which you will not be able to access Okoa Jahazi services for 14 days.

That aside, Okoa Jahazi lets you borrow airtime ranging for KES 10 to KES 100; unfortunately you will be subjected to an advance service fee of 10 percent which will be charged to the each request. The means the amount you will receive will be 10 percent less of the amount you requested for.

The table below highlights the service fee for each request and the actual airtime you will receive.

[caption id="attachment_20376" align="alignnone" width="532"] Table sourced from: safaricom.co.ke[/caption]

Despite the fact that you will get 10 percent less the amount you requested for, when repaying the airtime will pay an amount equivalent to the amount you requested for. For instance you request for KES 50 airtime, you will get KES 45 airtime instead since a 10 percent service charge has been deducted from the amount you requested for. When repaying the credit, KES 50 will be deducted from your airtime to repay the amount.

Okoa Jahazi airtime advanced is deducted in the next top-up or top ups until the full amount is recovered. For instance you borrowed KES 100 airtime for the service and later topped up with KES 20. This plus subsequent top ups will be deducted until the entire amount borrowed is recovered.

Airtime purchased through this service can be used to make calls and send SMSes to Safaricom and all other local networks plus you can use it browse the internet. Unfortunately you can’t Sambaza/transfer your Okoa Jahazi airtime.

Let’s briefly look at the pros and cons of this service:

The service comes in handy during those desperate times when you urgently need airtime but are unable to purchase some. The service is also available 24/7 unless there is a problem with Safaricoms’ systems. Unlike other airtime credit services, Okoa Jahazi airtime can be used to only make calls or send SMSes to Safaricom and other networks, you can also use the acquired airtime to surf the internet.

Unfortunately, you will get 10 percent less than the amount you requested for, though as it is expected in most credit facilities, a service charge has to be bared by the borrower. Another con is the fact that you will end up paying more than the amount you received. Take for instance you borrowed KES 50 airtime, you will get KES 45 airtime instead and end up repaying KES 50 instead. Unlike in other mobile airtime credit service where you can borrow more than KES 100 airtime, Okoa Jahazi limits you to a maximum amount of KES 100 which you can borrow. Also, for some people, 72 hours may be a short time for the payback.