Safaricom’s fintech engine powers 52% profit rise to $331M

• Safaricom PLC has also accelerated its investment in communities through the launch of the Safaricom Foundation Ethiopia and Citizens of the Future program that will benefit over 500 schools in Kenya.
• In its Kenya operations the company recorded a 22.6% growth in Net income to KES 58.2 billion, 9.3% jump in service revenue to KES 194.0billion, and 13.1% growth in EBIT to KES 89.5 billion.
• “We launched Fintech 2.0, a cloud-native platform built for speed, security, and fraud prevention, which allows us greater capacity, resilience and ability to innovate. Fintech 2.0 is shaping the future of M-PESA,” explained CEO Dr. Peter Ndegwa

Safaricom PLC (NSE: SCOM) has announced a 52.1 per cent growth in group net income to $331.3 million (KES.42.8 billion) for the six months to 30th September 2025, demonstrating resilience and growth across its Kenya and Ethiopia operations.

In its Kenya operations the company recorded a 22.6 per cent growth in net income to KES 58.2 billion, 9.3 per cent jump in service revenue to KES 194.0billion, and 13.1 per cent growth in EBIT to KES 89.5 billion.

During the period, the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm saw growth in all areas with active M-PESA users going up by 13.3 per cent, adding 2.1 million new users in just six months, during the year in which the fintech platform celebrated 18 years.

“More people are using our network, with active connectivity customers growing by 7.5 per cent to 37.5 million. Even our home internet customers grew a lot, by 31.4 per cent, reaching 432,000,” noted Safaricom Group Chief Finance Officer, Dilip Pal.

Across Ethiopia, the telco losses contracted by 20.1 per cent year-on-year to KES15.5 billion, even as pricing and currency reform challenges persisted. “In Ethiopia, we are engaging the Government and stakeholders to navigate market repair caused by the impact of currency reforms and which is necessary for a sustainable industry,” explained CEO Peter Ndegwa.

He added: “This is a strong set of results, and a solid start to our Vision 2030 strategy cycle, maintaining our FY26 guidance. We remain focused on executing our strategy through segment-led execution and integrated solutions.”

Citizens of the Future program

In addition to the strong set of results, the company continued to invest heavily in communities. Safaricom recently launched the Citizens of the Future program, an initiative set to benefit 500 schools with infrastructure upgrades, 10,000 scholarships and over 56,000 beneficiaries of digital literacy over the next five years.

“It has been 25 years of transforming lives, through innovation and community empowerment, a journey powered by purpose and collaboration. We have transformed the lives of over 22 million Kenyans through the Safaricom and M-PESA Foundations.  We remain anchored in purpose, driving sustainable growth and positive change,” Ndegwa said.

Further, the company launched Safaricom Ethiopia Foundation in July this year, investing over ETB 650million in community projects under education, youth and economic empowerment, a demonstration of the company’s commitment to purpose before profit.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS- SAFARICOM KENYA

• Service revenue, +9.3 per centYoY to KES 194billion
• Connectivity revenue (Mobile data, Voice, Messaging, Mobile Incoming & Other Service Revenue), +5.3 per cent YoY to KES 96.2 billion M-PESA revenue, +14 per cent YoY to KES 88.1 billion
• Fixed Service & IoT revenue, +9.5 per cent to KES9.8 billion
• EBIT, +13.1 per cent YoY to KES89.5 billion
• Net income, +22.6 per cent YoY to KES58.2 billion
• CAPEX, +11 per cent YoY to KES34.2 billion

SAFARICOM ETHIOPIA

• Service revenue, +136 per cent YoY to KES6.2 billion
• Voice revenue, +328.5 per cent YoY to KES1.4 billion
• MPESA revenue, -45.6 per cent YoY 8.7 million
• Mobile data revenue, +102.2 per cent YoY to KES4.1 billion
• Fixed service, +400.0 per cent to KES93 million
• EBIT, +34.4 per cent YoY to KES24.3 billion
• Net income, +20.1 per cent YoY to KES (15.5 billion)
• CAPEX, -66 per cent YoY to KES 9.5 billion
• Customers +83.7 per cent to 11.1 million

SAFARICOM GROUP

• Service revenue, +11.1 per cent YoY to KES199.9billion
• EBITDA, +34.9 per cent Kshs101.3 billion
• EBIT, +54.5 per cent YoY to KES65.2billion
• Net income, +52.1 per cent YoY to KES42.8billion
• CAPEX, -25.6 per cent to KES43.7 billion

Safaricom PLC’s Silver Jubilee

This year, Safaricom is marking 25 years of transforming lives through innovation and empowerment. From 17,000 subscribers in 2000 to over 50 million customers in Kenya and over 10 million in Ethiopia today.

As part of celebrating this milestone, the telco has launched three initiatives, including Shangwe @25, which is a consumer promotion where twenty-five customers will become millionaires and get an additional 250,000 shillings to fund a community project of their choice.

Additionally, Safaricom has unveiled the Green Box Initiative, which will bring festive cheer with surprises like devices and treats such as chicken and goats to brighten homes across Kenya. Last week, Safaricom launched Citizens of the Future, a program that will elevate education for our children for years to come.

“We launched Fintech 2.0, a cloud-native platform built for speed, security, and fraud prevention, which allows us greater capacity, resilience and ability to innovate. Fintech 2.0 is shaping the future of M-PESA,” explained Dr. Peter Ndegwa.

Fintech 2.0 has seen Safaricom add new features including shared wallets, split payments, tap-to-pay while also embedding AI to strengthen fraud detection, enable self-healing, and power real-time monitoring of the financial services platform.

Read also: Safaricom marks Silver Jubilee, celebrating 25 years of economic impact in Kenya