Safaricom Ltd: East Africa’s Telecom and Mobile Money Leader

Safaricom PLC is Kenya’s largest mobile network operator and a dominant force in East African telecom and mobile. Founded in 1997 as a unit of state-owned Telkom Kenya, Safaricom’s ownership structure changed when Vodafone acquired a 40% stake in. By 2008 the Kenyan government sold 25% of its shares in an IPO on the Nairobi Securities Exchange – a landmark offering oversubscribed by over 500%. Today Safaricom is by far the biggest listed company in Kenya, controlling roughly two‐thirds of the market (about 66% of subscribers and over 69% of voice traffic). As of 2025 its network serves over 50 million (including roughly 47 million in Kenya and ~10 million in Ethiopia), reflecting its deep reach in the region. Safaricom’s profile is supported by diverse services – from mobile telephony and data to cloud services and e-commerce – but it is best known as the home of M-PESA, a pioneering mobile money.

Safaricom has a track record of strong financial results. For example, in the first half of FY2026 (year to Sept 2025) the company reported 65.2 billion Kenyan shillings in operating profit and service revenue of 199.9 billion. Group net earnings for that period jumped 52.1% year-on-year to KSh 42.7. Much of this growth was driven by core data and voice services in Kenya, plus rapid expansion of its mobile money unit. Indeed, Safaricom’s mobile financial services division (M-PESA and related products) contributed KSh 88.1 billion in the half-year – about 45% of service revenue – up 14% from a year earlier. In its statements Safaricom emphasized that resilient demand for data/voice and mobile money, along with narrowing losses in its new Ethiopia business, underpinned the gains. Over the full year to 2021 Safaricom reported roughly KSh 264.0 billion in revenue (USD ~$2.0 billion), and it has consistently paid dividends, highlighting its cash-generative profile.

Strategic Growth and Milestones

Safaricom’s evolution has been marked by bold innovations and expansions. Its marquee achievement was the launch of M-PESA in 2007 – a joint venture with Vodafone that created a mobile-based money transfer and micro-finance. M-PESA revolutionized financial services in Kenya and beyond, allowing millions of previously unbanked people to send money, pay bills, access micro-loans (e.g. M-Shwari) and savings on their. The platform has since expanded into a dozen African countries (including Tanzania, Ghana, Egypt, and Ethiopia) and further solidified Safaricom’s reputation for digital. In parallel, Safaricom continually upgraded its network: it was the first in Kenya with 3G and 4G services, and in March 2021 it became the second operator in Africa (after Vodacom South Africa) to launch a live 5G. Safaricom has also rolled out fiber broadband and fixed wireless services (e.g. 5G Home Internet), and partnered with banks to introduce novel products (such as the Lipa Mdogo Mdogosmartphone payment plan and NCBA’s M-Shwari banking). In the corporate arena, Safaricom hit key milestones like crossing 10 million Ethiopian customers since entering that market in and pioneering other value-added services (e.g. Masoko e-commerce platform). Its IPO in 2008 and ongoing public listing have given it a market capitalization often above USD 10 billion,

making it the single largest company on the.

Safaricom’s network infrastructure – here illustrated by a rural telecom tower – underpins Kenya’s connectivity. Its extensive footprint supports tens of millions of mobile users and M-PESA agents across Kenya (Safaricom serves ~65–70% of the national). This dominance is the result of multi-decade investment in nationwide coverage, as well as innovative offerings (branchless banking, fintech, and digital services) that have strengthened customer loyalty and usage. Financially, this scale translates to robust earnings: for H1 2026, Safaricom’s service revenue (voice, data, fixed-line) grew to KSh 199.9, and its profitability returned to record levels. CEO Peter Ndegwa highlights that mobile data and fintech are now the growth engines – for example, 5G and fiber expansion for enterprise clients, and a recently launched “Fintech 2.0” upgrade to increase M-PESA’s capacity (targeting 1.5 million transactions per hour) – which reflect Safaricom’s strategy to deepen digital services beyond basic.

https://markets.ft.com/data/equities/tearsheet/summary?s=SCOM:NAI

Influence on East African Telecom and Finance

As East Africa’s incumbent, Safaricom wields outsized influence on regional telecom dynamics and financial inclusion. In Kenya it sets industry standards: its early moves into mobile money, smartphone financing, and IoT have inspired competitors and reshaped consumer expectations. In Tanzania and Rwanda, its legacy and technology partnerships (through Vodafone/Vodacom alliances) make it a bellwether for neighboring markets. Safaricom’s M-PESA alone is often cited as the continent’s most successful fintech innovation – by some measures, over 80% of Kenyan adults are financially included thanks to mobile money and related agent. This ecosystem effect boosts Safaricom’s brand: studies rank it among Africa’s most admired and best employers. Its societal role is also significant – via mobile savings, insurance (M-Shwari, Fuliza overdrafts), and health or education payments, Safaricom connects vast numbers of consumers to digital commerce and social services. In sum, Safaricom is not just a telecom carrier; it’s a central platform in Kenya’s digital economy.

Risks and Opportunities

Safaricom’s prospects are balanced by several key risks and opportunities. On the risk side, intense market saturation in Kenya means organic growth is maturing; competition from Airtel (though smaller) and new digital entrants could pressure pricing. Regulatory scrutiny looms, especially around fees for M-PESA and data, given Safaricom’s large market share. Macro factors are relevant: currency fluctuations, inflation and interest rates in Kenya (and Ethiopia) can impact costs and foreign investments. Safaricom’s expansion into Ethiopia, while potentially high-reward, comes with high upfront costs and an entrenched national incumbent (Ethio Telecom); analysts have noted that narrowing losses there is vital for overall. Governance risks (for example, government ownership stake and political interference) are also watched by investors.

On the opportunity side, Safaricom has significant levers. Its large subscriber base provides cross-selling potential for new services (insurance, credit scoring, government e-payments). The company has a track record of successful innovation (M-PESA, Fuliza, enterprise cloud services) which it can extend to other East African markets – potentially through Vodafone/Vodacom partnerships. Continued rollouts of 5G and fiber can unlock enterprise and wholesale revenue. The growing digital economy in Africa – with rising smartphone and internet penetration – offers a secular growth backdrop. As Safaricom emphasizes, Kenya’s economy is still growing and under-networked relative to developed markets, leaving room for data usage. In financial terms, Safaricom’s balance sheet has been strong: analysts note its credit profile stabilized in 2024–25 thanks to rising earnings, which could allow opportunistic investments (some commentaries suggest ratings have recovered from earlier downgrades). Moreover, Safaricom has ambitions to replicate its Kenyan success abroad; for instance, it announced plans to explore new markets (including a rumored potential bid for Spectrum in Rwanda or Ghana) and to commercialize M-PESA in new segments.

Leadership and Governance

Safaricom’s management team combines local expertise with global experience. The CEO, Dr. Peter Ndegwa (appointed April 2020), is the first Kenyan to lead the company. Ndegwa brought extensive multinational credentials: before Safaricom he was Diageo’s President for Europe, India and Russia and a director at East African Breweries. He is credited with deepening Safaricom’s customer engagement and steering its strategic pivot to digital finance and enterprise solutions. Under Ndegwa, Safaricom has set ambitious goals (e.g. bridging rural connectivity, pioneering 5G) while maintaining profitability.

Other key executives include Dilip Pal, Group CFO since November. Pal is a veteran telecom finance executive (formerly CFO at Telenor’s subsidiaries in Thailand and Bangladesh) and oversees Safaricom’s financial controls, planning and reporting. The company’s board and governance also play a role: in January 2023 Safaricom’s board elected Adil Khawaja as chair. Khawaja is a corporate law veteran (formerly General Counsel at East African Breweries) with experience on multiple public company boards. Long-serving directors include individuals with backgrounds at Vodafone, KenGen, and the World Bank. (Safaricom’s largest shareholders remain Vodacom Group – a unit of Vodafone – and the Kenyan government, which holds the remaining publicly-traded shares.) This blend of executive and non-executive leadership has helped Safaricom navigate regulatory challenges and market shifts, such as lobbying over industry policies and managing expansion into Ethiopia.

Integration with Verī Platform and MPS

Safaricom’s NSE-traded stock (ticker “SCOM”) is accessible to international investors through the Verī global investment platform. Verī enables users to “access almost any asset class across major and minor exchanges or jurisdictions worldwide”veri-global.com, which in practice means an investor can include Safaricom shares in a diversified portfolio alongside global equities. In Verī’s Managed Portfolio Service (MPS), Safaricom could feature as a representative of “East African telecom” or “African growth” themes.

For example, a Kenyan regional fund or a sub-Saharan telecom fund might allocate a portion to Safaricom for telecom exposure and mobile money growth. (Verī’s model-driven portfolios might weight Safaricom according to risk/return parameters and strategic objectives.) Importantly, any such allocation would be part of a broader strategy – for instance, alongside other African blue-chips – rather than a sole recommendation. As always, portfolio managers on Verī carefully consider correlation and diversification, so Safaricom’s role in a model might be as one growth engine among several in the African tech sector. Verī does not promise guaranteed outcomes, but Safaricom’s inclusion provides investors a regulated way to tap Kenya’s digital economy.

Risks and Disclaimer: Safaricom, like any investment, carries risks (market, currency, regulatory, etc.) and is subject to the volatile conditions of emerging markets. Past performance is not an indicator of future results. This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation.

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