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Safaricom reports bumper results as data users increase, M-Pesa advances

Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa.
Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa.

Safaricom has announced an increase in service revenue of Kshs 281.1-billion, a 12.3% increase from last year’s figure of Kshs 250.4-billion.

According to its full financial year for the period 2021/2022 M-Pesa registered a 30.3% year-on-year growth to record Kshs 107.7-billion in revenue, accounting for 38.3% of the service revenue

The company has advanced on its strategy is to ensure M-Pesa is accessible to its 30 million customers with the M-Pesa super app registering over 5 million downloads. Over 3 million businesses are also using M-Pesa payment channels in an addressable market of between five and six million merchants.

Safaricom saw the addition of 2.4 million 4G data users in the year under review, boosting the uptake of mobile broadband in the country.

Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said mobile data usage grew by 275% in the period under review, whereas mobile data revenue grew by 8.1% YoY in FY22 to KShs 48.44-billion.

“Of the new devices into our network this year, Lipa Mdogo Mdogo (Safaricom device payment plan) accounted for about twenty four per cent of the devices,” said Ndegwa. The program allows users to sign up and acquire 4- enabled mobile phones and pay a low daily fee until they acquire the devices.

Ndegwa added that their network still has about 12 million feature phones which presents a growth opportunity for the company’s data sector. The company has now 11 million 4G devices in its network.

Total voice and SMS revenue registered Khs 83.21-billion and Kshs 10.88-billion respectively, both contributing 35% of service revenue.

Ethiopia expansion

Safaricom stated that its Ethiopia plans are moving ahead with the recruitment of 305 employees, with plans to reach 1,000 employees in the next financial year.

“After a period of negotiations and with support of ECA, we are making progress in terms of establishing a mutually beneficial partnership with Ethio Telecom on the key terms for interconnection, transmission capacity and tower sharing,” said Ndegwa.

The company has built two datacentres, made the first test call, sent the first SMS, completed the first data session and also successfully tested the SIM card registration process.

Ndegwa added: “On 13 April 2022, we reached in principle agreement with Ethio Telecom on the key terms at a meeting convened by the ECA. The companies are now working together on the finalisation of these important agreements and the implementation required for our commercial launch”

Safaricom has also signed five-year lease infrastructure agreements with Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) and Ethiopian Electric Utilities (EEU) for its transmission infrastructure. 

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