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The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has roped in digital taxi drivers as it seeks to enlist more workers from the informal sector into the State pension scheme.

NSSF managing trustee Antony Omerikwa said the fund aims to sign up a million members from the grey economy by end of 2020 to bridge the gap of the country’s increasing ranks of an ageing citizenry.

“We are targeting organised groups. That is why we started with the markets and now we are on the digital taxi sector. Since we started, the uptake has been high…we are on course as per our strategy,” he said.

Pension scheme

He said about 18 million Kenyans, who are eligible to make saving towards retirement benefits, are not enrolled with any pension scheme with the bulk of them being in the informal sector.

It is on that premise that NSSF last month unveiled haba haba, a mobile platform designed to enable workers in the informal sector to make contributions towards their retirement through the cell phone.

In the new system, the digital cab drivers will remit Sh25 daily and Sh750 monthly towards the pension kitty.

“There is no ceiling in terms of how much you can contribute. After five years, members can withdraw half of their contribution and plough it back into their businesses while the rest continue to accrue interest,” said Omerikwa.

Meanwhile, the Digital Taxi Forum (DTF) has partnered with KCB Bank, which will offer them personal accident cover.

Safaricom will also offer the digital cab drivers unlimited voice and data services for Sh100 daily.

Digital cabs have also inked a deal with auto gas firm, Petro Gas that will see their car engines modified to use Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) that will see them cut fuel cost by 44 per cent.

Ordinarily, installing the system costs Sh50,000 but under the deal, car owners will fork out Sh100 daily for 18 months to have their vehicles fitted with the technology.