Browsing: Safaricom

• Safaricom PLC has also accelerated its investment in communities through the launch of the Safaricom Foundation Ethiopia and Citizens of the Future program that will benefit over 500 schools in Kenya.
• In its Kenya operations the company recorded a 22.6% growth in Net income to KES 58.2 billion, 9.3% jump in service revenue to KES 194.0billion, and 13.1% growth in EBIT to KES 89.5 billion.
• “We launched Fintech 2.0, a cloud-native platform built for speed, security, and fraud prevention, which allows us greater capacity, resilience and ability to innovate. Fintech 2.0 is shaping the future of M-PESA,” explained CEO Dr. Peter Ndegwa

Safaricom PLC (NSE: SCOM) has announced a 52.1 per cent growth in group net income to $331.3 million (KES.42.8 billion) for the six months to 30th September 2025, demonstrating resilience and growth across its Kenya and Ethiopia operations.

In its Kenya operations the company recorded a 22.6 per …

• Safaricom PLC reaffirms its commitment to powering digital transformation and sustainable growth across Africa.
• The company recently achieved a historic milestone, surpassing 50 million customers across its mobile network in Kenya.
• Through its flagship innovation M-PESA, which currently has over 35 million active customers, Safaricom has redefined financial services, driving economic growth, financial inclusion, and entrepreneurship.

Safaricom PLC is marking its Silver Jubilee today, celebrating 25 years of pioneering digital innovation in the wake of mobile technology since its official launch on the 23rd of October 2000.

Since its inception with tens of thousands of subscribers as a spin-off of Telkom, Safaricom has evolved from a pioneering mobile service provider into a purpose-led technology company.

In this trailblazing journey, the company continues to transform lives through improved connectivity, innovative mobile money solutions, and impactful social investments under its impact platforms, Safaricom Foundation and M-PESA Foundation.

“Today, we are not only …

• Safaricom PLC’s True Value in fiscal year 2025 is 16 times greater than its financial profit during the period.
• The telco’s True Value was enhanced by creating value for customers, agents and merchants through fintech M-PESA, increased investment in responsible citizen and social impact initiatives.
• Company contributed KES809 billion to Kenya’s GDP through its touch points in the various value chains.

In an economy where Safaricom PLC products and services weave deep networks from corporate boardrooms, to government corridors, to the ever bustling SME sector, the company’s True Value in 2025 increased to $8.509 billion (KES1.1 trillion), the latest Sustainable Business Report shows.

In the trading period ending 30th March 2025, the company contributed KES809 billion to Kenya’s GDP through its touch points in the various value chains. In an update on Tuesday, Safaricom attributed the increase in the True Value earnings to the enhanced value created for customers, agents …

• The Spark Accelerator Program has unveiled the second cohort of 10 startups that are poised to drive innovation and scale in Africa.
• The selected startups are: Mediakits.Io, WePlay Arcade, GoPay, FlexPay, QuePay, Leta.AI, Oye, DigiTax, Incourage Insurance Agency Limited and StockApp.
• The operate in broad segments of the economy including embedded finance, creative economy, future fintech, and SME productivity tools.

Spark Accelerator program, an initiative backed by Kenya’s tech giant Safaricom has welcomed 10 startups into the second cohort of training, aiming at better reshaping the future of digital first economy across Africa. The 10 startups, which were selected from a pool of 200 applicants, will undergo training before pitching before potential investors for various forms of financing next year to speed up growth.

In an industry update on Wednesday, Safaricom and partners announced the lucky 10 startups as: Mediakits.Io, WePlay …

• M-PESA upgrade is expected to deliver scalability, resilience and AI-powered innovation that will see platform process 6,000 transactions per second from the current 4500 Tps.
• Transformation positions M-PESA to meet the growing demands of Africa’s digital economy while preparing for future opportunities.
• New-look platform embeds artificial intelligence to aid in fraud detection, enable self-healing, and power real-time monitoring.

Tech giant Safaricom is set to undertake the most significant upgrade of its mobile financial services platform M-PESA, offering the fintech a new-look system that can process 6,000 transactions per second (Tps), up from the current 4,500 Tps.

The planned upgrade on Monday, 22nd September between 00:30am and 03:30am will be the biggest on the platform since 2015, marking a major milestone in the service’s 18-year journey of driving financial inclusion and digital transformation.

“During the maintenance, all M-PESA services including airtime purchase shall be temporarily unavailable. The timing of this maintenance …

• In Kenya, mobile phone users are opting for internet calls and texting as a measure to cut on costs.
• Last year, customers spent more time on a single on-net call averaging 2.8 minutes.
• Safaricom customers spent more on off-net calls, averaging at 1.4 minutes while Airtel accounted for 33.3% of voice and 10.3% of SMS traffic in Kenya. 

An increasing number of mobile phone users in Kenya prefer using internet calls and texting as a measure to cut communication costs, a 2023 report by the Communications Authority shows. This shift is steadily eroding both voice and text revenues for mobile network providers in Kenya.

The report shows that the minutes of use per month per subscription decreased to 120.4 minutes in the three months to December 2023 compared to a higher 123.4 minutes during the previous quarter.

Similarly, short messages sent per month per subscription declined marginally to 65.4 from …

• Safaricom has requested telco industry watchdog, the Communications Authority (CA) to block satellite internet providers, such as Elon Musk’s Starlink, from operating independently within Kenya.
• Kenya’s largest telco argues that allowing satellite providers to operate independently could lead to challenges in enforcing compliance with local laws.
• Safaricom insists satellite ISPs should only be allowed to operate under the license rights of a local company.

A fierce battle is looming in Kenya’s internet service provider (ISP) industry, with Safaricom PLC, the region’s largest telecommunications operator, requesting the Communications Authority (CA) to block satellite internet providers, such as Elon Musk’s Starlink, from operating independently within the country.

This development sets the stage for what could turn out to be a fierce contest over the control of Kenya’s lucrative internet market, as telco heavyweights Safaricom and Starlink vie for dominance in a rapidly digitizing economy.

Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and …

• Africa’s evolving telco sector faces challenges such as brand loyalty and infrastructure costs.
• Some of the most recognised brands in Africa are telcos MTN, and Safaricom PLC.
• Africa, and particularly the smaller emerging markets such as Rwanda and Ethiopia are home to a diverse customer base, new report notes.

The African telecommunications market has seen significant consolidation over the past decade, characterised by mergers, acquisitions, and closures such as Telecel’s acquisition of MTN’s operations in Guinea-Bissau and Guinea Conakry; as well as its acquisition of Vodafone Ghana.

According to Robert van Breukelen, CEO of Itemate Solutions, this comes as mobile financial services in Africa have grown with around 435 million (9 per cent YoY rise) active mobile money accounts by the end of 2023.

Breukelen argues that larger, more established telcos are shifting their focus to larger markets, diversifying into mobile financial services such as banking, loans, remittance, insurance, and …

• Nala Money has Payment Service Provider licenses in several countries, including its founder’s home, Tanzania.
• In 2020, Africa’s e-payments industry, across domestic and cross-border payments, generated approximately $24 billion in revenues, of which about $15 billion was domestic electronic payments.
• Africa’s domestic e-payments market is expected to see revenues grow by approximately 20 per cent per year, reaching around $40 billion by 2025

“Little did I know that if a European-based client of mine could have subscribed to Nala Money, I would have received $100 more to my fee.  Unlike Nala, the money order service I use has a low exchange rate and is somehow unconventional.”

This testament is not a promotion or a boost for the latter but an admission of facts and experiences Tanzanians who might receive remittance often or once could face.

Nala, started by Tanzanian youth Benjamin Fernandes in 2017, aimed to increase economic opportunities for …

• The latest Nairobi Securities Exchange monthly Barometer shows month-on-month growth comparing January this year and December last year, with prospects looking much better after a bear run last year.
• Market capitalisation increased by 0.08 per cent in January to $9.11 billion from $9.05 billion in December 2023.
• The NSE 20 and NSE 25 Share Index recorded increases in activity of 0.89 per cent and 1.32 per cent, respectively, while the All-Share Index experienced a 0.08 per cent increase.

Nairobi Securities Exchange showing recovery signs

Kenya’s capital market is showing a sign of recovery this year, with the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) recording a gain in January, albeit minimal, as large stocks pay investors.

This is despite interest rates in advanced economies remaining high into 2024, a trend that has seen foreign investors focus on home markets, mainly the United States.

The latest NSE monthly Barometer shows month-on-month growth comparing January …