Despite regulatory pressure, Vodacom, the parent company of Safaricom, has opted against separating M-Pesa from the telecom division and listing it independently on the stock market. Kenyans at an M-Pesa shop. Photo: Simon Maina. Source: Getty Images Mohamed Joosub, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Vodacom Group, told investors that it is challenging to distinguish the fintech from the telecoms division because the financial services division offers additional value to voice and internet users. Why Vodacom won’t split M-Pesa from Safaricom
Investors wanted to know if the company would follow competitors like MTN Group, which is separating Uganda’s mobile money business from the telecom unit. However, Vodacom, which owns 40% of Safaricom, noted that there is value in the fintech and telecom divisions operating jointly. “We do not want to list the financial services companies separately because we believe they are closely related to the value proposition we offer to our clients. Actually, we envision a closer connection between it and loyalty in the future. We position ourselves as having something quite distinct from a typical telecom company,” Joosub explained, as reported by Business Daily. The fintech division of Vodacom Group, the parent company of Vodacom South Africa, Tanzania, and Egypt, has grown rapidly, generating KSh 2.2 billion in revenues annually. M-Pesa has had double-digit growth since its 2007 inception and is expected to account for half of Safaricom’s earnings. What was Safaricom’s profit? Safaricom’s half-year earnings increased by 52.1% to KSh 42.8 billion, aided by M-Pesa’s double-digit growth and a lower loss in Ethiopia.
M-Pesa accounted for 42% of Safaricom’s net profit in the six months to September 2025. Photo: Simon Maina. Source: Getty Images Safaricom’s revenue increased by 11.1%, from KSh 179.9 billion in the same period last year to KSh 199.9 billion in the six months ending in September. M-Pesa’s revenue increased by 14% from KSh 77.2 billion to KSh 88.1 billion. With 42% of total revenue, it is currently the company’s largest division. Why Treasury and CBK want M-Pesa split from Safaricom Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said an evaluation showed there would be a huge benefit to the state from splitting the company into a telecommunications firm, a tower operator, and its popular mobile-payments platform M-Pesa. According to Mbadi, a definitive strategy for breaking up the corporation and reducing the government’s stake has not yet been decided upon and would need Cabinet approval. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) would prefer to see a split between Safaricom and M-Pesa, with the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) handling the telecoms division. READ ALSO Kenya strikes gold deposits valued at over KSh 680b in Kakamega This will leave the CBK to oversee the multi-billion shilling transactions that the mobile money platform handles.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
