Company: Safaricom
Country: Kenya
Sector: Wireless Telecom.
CEO: Peter Ndegwa (Group Chief Executive Officer, since April 2020)
Website: https://www.safaricom.co.ke
Careers Page: Not publicly listed
LinkedIn: Not publicly listed
Email: Not publicly listed
Headquarters: Safaricom House, Nairobi, Kenya
Founded: 1997
Valuation/Revenue: $2,657.4m revenue; $5,670.5m market value (African Business Top 250, 2025)
Safaricom is Kenya’s largest telecommunications operator and the company behind M-PESA, the pioneering mobile money platform that transformed financial inclusion across East Africa. It offers mobile voice, data, fibre and enterprise services in Kenya and has expanded into Ethiopia through a separate licensed operation.
What Does Safaricom Do?
Safaricom’s core business spans mobile voice and data services, mobile money (M-PESA), fixed and fibre broadband, enterprise IT and cloud services, and a growing digital services ecosystem including e-commerce and streaming. M-PESA remains its signature product globally, having pioneered mobile-money transfer at scale from the mid-2000s onward and since expanded into savings, credit, merchant payments and cross-border transfer services used by tens of millions of Kenyans daily. Safaricom also operates a separately licensed mobile network in Ethiopia, part of a consortium bringing competition to that country’s previously monopoly telecom market.
How Big Is Safaricom?
African Business magazine’s 2025 Top 250 ranking put Safaricom’s revenue at roughly $2.66 billion, with a market value of approximately $5.67 billion, ranking it 62nd among Africa’s largest companies by revenue but among the more highly valued given its dominant market position and profitability. As of mid-2025, Safaricom had surpassed 50 million customers in Kenya and reached 10 million customers in Ethiopia, and it commands roughly 65.7% of Kenya’s mobile market, according to Wikipedia-sourced figures.
Is Safaricom Legit?
Yes. Safaricom is Kenya’s largest listed company, trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange under ticker SCOM, subject to full public financial disclosure, and is one of the most closely watched and analysed companies in East Africa given its systemic importance to Kenya’s economy and mobile-money infrastructure.
Who Owns Safaricom?
Vodafone Group plc holds a significant stake, reported at around 40%, having acquired its interest in 2000; the Government of Kenya also holds a meaningful stake, though it has reduced this over time through public share sales; and the remainder is held by public shareholders via the NSE listing. In early 2026, Safaricom’s CEO told Kenyan members of parliament the company would remain majority Kenyan-controlled despite a planned share sale, addressing political sensitivities around foreign ownership of the country’s most important telecom asset.
Who Is the CEO of Safaricom?
Peter Ndegwa has served as Safaricom’s Group Chief Executive Officer since April 2020. His compensation has drawn public attention in Kenya, with reporting in 2026 detailing that his pay for the 2025/26 financial year rose to around KSh 324.5 million, a figure widely covered by Kenyan business media given Safaricom’s status as a bellwether for executive pay debates in the country.
Where Is Safaricom Headquartered?
Safaricom’s head office, Safaricom House, is located in Nairobi, Kenya.
What Has Safaricom Been in the News For Recently?
Beyond CEO pay scrutiny, Safaricom made board changes in August 2026, appointing Mariam Cassim and Matimba Mbungela as new non-executive directors, and continued to field political questions about the ownership structure behind any prospective share sale process, with the CEO reassuring Parliament that the company would remain fundamentally Kenyan-controlled. The continued build-out and adoption of its Ethiopian mobile operation, alongside ongoing 5G rollout in major Kenyan cities, has also featured in recent coverage.
How Old Is Safaricom and What Is Its History?
Safaricom was founded in 1997 as a subsidiary of Telkom Kenya before Vodafone Group acquired a significant stake in 2000, and the company later listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange in 2008 through one of Kenya’s largest-ever initial public offerings. The 2007 launch of M-PESA transformed Safaricom from a conventional mobile operator into a financial-services pioneer, and the platform is widely credited with driving a substantial increase in formal financial inclusion across Kenya over the following decade, a model since studied and partially replicated by mobile operators worldwide.
How Does Safaricom Compare to Its Competitors?
Within Kenya, Safaricom’s main rivals are Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya, though Safaricom’s roughly 65.7% market share leaves it in a dominant position domestically. In Ethiopia, Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia competes against the long-standing state incumbent Ethio Telecom as one of the first licensed private entrants into that market, a significant growth opportunity given Ethiopia’s large, historically underserved population.
Links
Website: https://www.safaricom.co.ke
Careers Page: Not found
LinkedIn: Not found
Email: Not publicly listed
FAQ
Is Safaricom a Kenyan or foreign-owned company? It is majority Kenyan by public float and government stake combined, though Vodafone holds a substantial roughly-40% shareholding.
Who is the CEO of Safaricom? Peter Ndegwa, Group CEO since April 2020.
What is M-PESA? Safaricom’s mobile money platform, one of the most widely used mobile financial services in the world.
Is Safaricom publicly traded? Yes, on the Nairobi Securities Exchange under ticker SCOM.
Where is Safaricom headquartered? Nairobi, Kenya.
Does Safaricom operate outside Kenya? Yes, it also operates a licensed mobile network in Ethiopia.