At a Glance
- Safaricom hits $7.4 billion valuation amid posting $3 billion in revenue in Q1 2025, marking a historic regional telecom milestone.
- Dividend payouts hit $372 million, signaling strong returns and investor confidence.
- Ethiopian expansion fuels 10% revenue, doubling subscribers and growing M-PESA adoption.
Safaricom Group, East Africa’s telecom giant, has become the first publicly listed company in East and Central Africa to surpass a $7 billion market valuation—adding more than $1.9 billion in just 82 days after hitting the $5.5 billion mark in March 2025.
The milestone reflects renewed investor confidence, fueled by strong dividends and profitability, cementing Safaricom’s status as the most valuable company on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and in the region.
Safaricom’s market capitalization has surged to Ksh956 billion ($7.4 billion), with its share price jumping from Ksh17.75 ($0.137) to Ksh23.85 ($0.185) in just 82 days since hitting the $5.48 billion mark—highlighting investor confidence in CEO Peter Ndegwa’s growth strategy.
Dividend windfall and double-digit earnings growth
On June 10, 2025, Safaricom announced a final dividend of Ksh0.65 ($0.005) per share, taking total dividend payouts to Ksh48.08 billion ($372.19 million), including an interim dividend of Ksh 0.55 ($0.004) disbursed earlier in the year.
The payout reaffirms the telco’s strong cash generation and commitment to shareholder returns.
The group also posted a historic performance for the first three months ending March 2025, becoming the first company in the region to cross the $3 billion revenue threshold.
This milestone comes as the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm wraps up its five-year transformation strategy to reposition itself from a telco into a fully-fledged purpose-led technology company. Active 30-day customers rose by 7.1 percent to 37.1 million—marking the company’s strongest year-on-year growth in four years.
Kenya, Ethiopia fuel expansion amid record earnings
According to its first quarter update, the group reported an 11.2 percent rise in total revenue to Ksh388.7 billion ($3.01 billion) and a 10.8 percent increase in net income to Ksh69.8 billion ($540.48 million) for the year ended March 2025, according to its first-quarter update.
Ethiopia contributed nearly 10 percent of group revenue, with its subscriber base more than doubling from 4.3 million to 8.8 million.
The unit now runs over 3,141 network sites and has 2.4 million active M-PESA users who transacted Ksh20.6 billion ($159.5 million), underscoring the strategic value of Africa’s second-most populous country to Safaricom’s regional ambitions.
CEO Peter Ndegwa has consistently highlighted Ethiopia as a key pillar in Safaricom’s strategy to scale across borders and replicate its Kenyan success model.
Kenya remained the group’s anchor market, generating Ksh364.3 billion ($2.82 billion) in service revenue, up 10.5 percent. M-PESA, now in its 18th year, rose 15.2 percent to Ksh161.1 billion ($1.25 billion), accounting for 44.2 percent of local service revenue, defying global decline trends.
CDSC digitizes 16 billion Safaricom shares in landmark move
In a historic development for Kenya’s capital markets, the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC) completed the immobilization of 16 billion Safaricom shares—transitioning them from physical certificates to electronic format.
The transaction, triggered by Vodafone Limited, boosted the total number of Safaricom shares held within the Central Depository System from 24 billion to 40 billion.
CDSC now holds 97 billion electronic shares across all issuers in Kenya, representing 95% of the total equity market and advancing the country’s dematerialization agenda.
“This milestone is not just numeric,” said CDSC CEO Jesse Kagoma. “It signals institutional trust in our infrastructure and brings Kenya in line with global capital market standards.”
Safaricom’s long-term growth strategy
Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Nairobi, Safaricom has grown into East Africa’s leading provider of mobile connectivity, cloud services, and digital financial solutions through its flagship M-PESA platform.
Under CEO Peter Ndegwa—who holds a 0.016 percent stake, equivalent to 6.2 million shares—the telecom giant continues to sharpen its strategic focus amid a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Safaricom expects its Ethiopian unit—currently a major expansion focus—to turn profitable by fiscal 2027, as capital expenditure winds down and M-PESA penetration deepens.
The immobilization initiative is expected to reduce settlement risk, cut transfer times, and bolster investor confidence—especially among custodians, brokers, and retail investors seeking faster and more transparent trade execution.
By digitizing the majority of its shares, Safaricom now stands as one of the most liquid and modern equities in sub-Saharan Africa’s capital markets.
The shift to a fully electronic shareholding environment aligns with Kenya’s ambition to position itself as a regional financial hub and attract long-term global capital.
