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Safaricom, Kenya’s leading telecommunications company, has announced its Full Year 2022/2023 results, revealing a net income increase of 3.0% to KES 74.5 billion.
The company’s group service revenue increased by 5.2% to KES 295.7 billion, while the group net income, excluding minority interest, decreased by 10.6% due to expected start-up costs and investment in rolling out operations in Ethiopia within the year.
Despite facing challenges such as a tough macro environment and a change in mobile termination rates that significantly impacted their voice revenues, Safaricom was able to add close to 3 million customers to its network in Ethiopia.
The company also built a distributor network of over 114 outlets, delivered an award-winning premium quality network in 22 cities and regions, and currently has close to 1,300 network sites and over 900 staff, 81% of whom are Ethiopians.
One of Safaricom’s most significant achievements is the recent license granted to its Ethiopian subsidiary, Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia, to operate mobile money services in Ethiopia.
This milestone comes seven months after the commercial launch of GSM services and positions Safaricom to provide essential financial services to the Ethiopian population.
The license will allow Safaricom to roll out M-PESA, its mobile money transfer system that has empowered over 30 million customers to transact, save or borrow money through their mobile phones in Kenya.
The system catalyzed financial inclusion in Kenya, increasing it from a low of 26.7% in 2006 to 84% according to the 2021 FinAccess Survey. It also generated over KES 117.2 billion ($886 million) in revenue in FY23.
With the license to operate in Ethiopia, Safaricom is confident that M-PESA will have a similar impact in Ethiopia, as the potential for the country is immense.
Despite the challenges faced by Safaricom, the company remains stable and is looking into the future with confidence.
Safaricom believes that it is well-positioned to support its customers and provide technology solutions as it transitions into a purpose-led technology organization in line with its 5-year strategy.
