Safaricom, a leading telecommunications company in Kenya, is transforming its mobile money platform, M-Pesa, into a comprehensive financial ecosystem. The company's strategy involves expanding M-Pesa beyond payments into investments, savings, insurance, and business services. This move aims to evolve Safaricom beyond its traditional telecommunications business. M-Pesa has become the company's largest revenue contributor, accounting for 45.6% of its service revenue. In the financial year ended March 2026, M-Pesa processed 46.4 billion transactions worth KSh41.68 trillion.
Safaricom's financial services business generated KSh182.7 billion in revenue in the financial year ended March 2026, representing 13.4% growth from the previous year. The company's Chief Executive Officer, Peter Ndegwa, outlined plans to broaden M-Pesa into a wider financial ecosystem connecting consumers, businesses, and financial institutions. Ndegwa identified Safaricom's entry into Ethiopia, the expansion of M-Pesa into financial services, and increased investment in connectivity as among the defining decisions of his tenure, which began on April 1, 2020.
M-Pesa's expansion into financial services allows customers to save, invest, and access insurance products through the platform. The company has introduced Ziidi Trader, a service that enables customers to buy and sell listed securities through the M-Pesa app, with investments starting from as little as US$1. Developed in partnership with the Nairobi Securities Exchange and Kestrel Capital, Ziidi Trader brings stock market participation closer to ordinary mobile money users. This move extends M-Pesa into personal investment management.
Safaricom's credit, investments, and merchant services drive growth, with the platform having 18 million total credit customers, an increase of 117.9% year on year. Assets under management in wealth products reached KSh21 billion, up from KSh9.8 billion a year earlier, while active wealth management customers increased to 2.2 million. The company's merchant ecosystem grew to approximately 3.1 million merchants in FY2026, an increase of 81.5%. Merchant revenue rose 35.8% to KSh13.3 billion.
Safaricom is consolidating its digital services through an AI-powered super app designed to bring consumer and business services into a single platform. The consumer app had 6.6 million active customers, up 40%, while the business app recorded 458,900 active merchants, an increase of 52.5%. Artificial intelligence is expected to help personalise services and improve how customers interact with the platform. Ndegwa has described the ambition as treating every customer as a “segment of one”, using data to deliver more tailored experiences.
Safaricom's strategy remains dependent on telecommunications infrastructure, with the company investing between US$400 million and US$500 million annually in Kenya. Approximately half of this investment is directed towards network infrastructure. Data consumption is growing by about 30% annually, increasing demand for network capacity, fibre connectivity, and reliable broadband services. Safaricom has expanded 4G coverage to more than 95% of Kenya's population.
Safaricom's ambitions extend beyond Kenya through its investment in Ethiopia, where it is building a second major telecommunications and financial services market. M-Pesa's 90-day active customers in Ethiopia increased 119.4% to 5.2 million in FY2026. However, the operation remains loss-making, although EBITDA losses narrowed 64.8% to KSh15.1 billion from KSh43 billion a year earlier.
Key points
- Safaricom positions M-Pesa as Kenya's digital economy operating system.
- M-Pesa expands into investments, savings, insurance, and business services.
- Safaricom invests heavily in telecommunications infrastructure to support its digital expansion.
