Kenyan telecom giant Safaricom has marked a major milestone in its Ethiopian operations, recording 8.8 million customers as of March 2025—more than double the number it had a year ago.
This represents a 103.2% year-on-year growth, achieved less than three years since the company officially entered the Ethiopian market in October 2022, becoming the first private operator to compete with the state-run Ethio Telecom.
The rapid expansion follows the award of a telecom license in 2021 to the Global Partnership for Ethiopia consortium, led by Safaricom.
Safaricom Ethiopia has since expanded its infrastructure to include over 3,100 network sites, while also launching its mobile money platform M-PESA. The platform now has 2.4 million registered users, a 68% increase from the previous year.
In terms of usage, M-PESA transactions reached 164.6 million during the period, with a total value of Sh20.6 billion.
“We had great results during a year marked by significant currency reforms,” Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said in a statement highlighting the company’s performance.
The company also reported employing 898 people directly, with 95% of them being Ethiopian nationals—reflecting its commitment to local job creation. Expatriates make up just 5% of the workforce.