Vodacom Tanzania invests $28 million in Kenya digital payments upgrade    

Vodacom Tanzania, the country’s leading telecommunications company and a subsidiary of the Vodacom Group, has invested $28 million to upgrade its M-Pesa platform, a move aimed at improving reliability, tightening security and preparing the service for wider use across East Africa. 

The company said the upgrade shifts M-Pesa from its legacy G2 system to a new financial technology platform built to handle higher volumes and support faster product updates. 

Customers are expected to see more stable service, with maintenance downtime cut from hours to minutes. The company also introduced additional security measures to better protect user data and transactions, as mobile money usage continues to rise across the region. 

For agents, merchants and business partners, the new system is designed to increase transaction capacity, improve reporting and offer clearer service management. Vodacom said it will also allow quicker rollout of new features as customer needs change. 

A 30-day “HyperCare” period has been put in place, during which technical and customer support teams will monitor performance closely and resolve any issues that arise during the transition. 

Vodacom expands M-Pesa with tap pay

Chief Executive Philip Besiimire said the investment reflects the company’s focus on strengthening its digital finance offering. 

“We are reinforcing the foundation of M-Pesa to keep it secure, dependable and ready to support new services at scale,” he said. 

The upgrade follows the recent launch of a tap-to-pay feature developed with Visa and Paymentology, part of a broader effort to deepen its digital payments offering.

Tanzania mobile money surges, Vodacom leads

The investment comes as mobile money adoption accelerates in Tanzania. Data from the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority shows subscriptions more than doubled to 76.46 million in 2025 from 35.28 million in 2021. Transactions rose to 6.3 billion over the same period from 3.75 billion. 

Vodacom Tanzania held a 41.2% share of the market as of December 2025, ahead of rivals Yas, Airtel and Halotel. 

The company said expanding M-Pesa remains a core priority, with plans focused on growing its financial services, scaling merchant payments and advancing its M-Pesa super app.

Vodacom Tanzania revenue jumps, users grow

Vodacom Tanzania offers a wide range of services for consumers and businesses, including voice, data, messaging, and financial solutions. The company is listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange and is majority-owned by Vodacom Group Limited of South Africa, which in turn is majority-owned by Vodafone Group PLC in the U.K. 

For the quarter ending December 31, 2025, Vodacom Tanzania reported total revenue of TZS 484 billion, up 19.8% from a year earlier. Service revenue grew at the same rate to TZS 477.5 billion, driven by a 17.1% increase in M-Pesa customers and strong growth in data services. The customer base rose 18% to 26.01 million. 

Philip Besiimire, appointed CEO in October 2022, leads the company with more than 15 years of experience in telecommunications leadership and mobile financial services across Africa.