Walking in any urban center or market in the country, you have probably come across a popular voice calling customers to acquire Airtel sim cards.
"Karibia karibia customer update line ya Airtel free of charge, kisha tunakuzawadi 100 MBs of data. Karibu customer," the famous voice says.
While many people are familiar with the voice, very few know Simon Richoh, the person behind it. Below is his story:
Who is Simon Richoh?
Richoh is an entertainer, an artist, an MC, a moderator, a marketer, and a business person. Currently, he works as a bodaboda rider in Githurai 45, Nairobi.
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He does all these jobs as a way of increasing his revenue base in order to provide for himself and the people who depend on him.
Recording Karibia Karibia Customer
Richoh came to Nairobi in 2017 immediately after completing his high school education. He hoped to secure a job, which he did in the sales sector.
According to Richoh, he and his two friends were given Airtel lines to sell, after which they would earn a commission depending on the amount of sales one had made.
File image of Simon Richoh. [Photo: Courtesy]
In order to be unique, he decided to visit a studio and record the catch phrase which he would play on his bluetooth speaker as he walked around hawking sim cards.
"We were selling sim cards and I'm a creative person, so I visited the studio and decided because we were being the cards for free, we should also give them for free, " he said.
Karibia Karibia Customer Goes Viral
The move worked well, prompting his colleagues to request the sound after seeing him make significant sales. Before he knew it, his voice had gone viral across the country.
Despite the recording going viral, Richoh does not have much to show for it, he's narrated in several interviews that life has been hard for him, noting that there was a period when he was almost kicked out from his house due to rent arrears.
According to him, he was not contracted by Airtel to record the voice. However, recently they reached out to him after he narrated the challenges he's gone through in life, despite his recording being used in all corners of the country.
Richoh notes that the telco said it may not be able to pay for the previous recording, but there is a possibility of them working together on a future project.
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