Safaricom Ethiopia Q1 Revenue Jumps 66% to KSh5.04 Billion as Data Usage, Subscriber Growth Accelerate

Safaricom Ethiopia recorded total revenue of KSh5.04 billion during the three months ended June 2026, representing a 66.1 percent year-on-year increase, supported by continued subscriber growth and higher mobile data consumption.

On a constant-currency basis, total revenue grew 100.3 percent, reflecting the impact of the depreciation of the Ethiopian Birr on reported earnings. The company maintained that it remains on track to achieve commercial EBITDA break-even by March 2027.

Service revenue increased 67.6 percent year-on-year to KSh4.95 billion, while constant-currency growth reached 102.2 percent.

Mobile data continued to account for the largest share of Safaricom Ethiopia’s earnings during the quarter.

Mobile data revenue rose 78.6 percent year-on-year to KSh3.60 billion, while constant-currency growth stood at 115.5 percent. Data services contributed 72.8 percent of total service revenue.

Voice revenue increased 36.0 percent to KSh846.1 million, with constant-currency growth of 63.8 percent.

Messaging revenue nearly doubled to KSh68.7 million compared to the same period last year.

Safaricom Ethiopia continued expanding its subscriber base during the quarter. Its 90-day active customer base grew 46.1 percent year-on-year to 14.70 million users, while 30-day active customers increased 50.4 percent to 11.63 million.

Active data subscribers reached 11.52 million. Average monthly data usage per chargeable subscriber increased 15.7 percent to 7.8GB, while local-currency average revenue per data user (ARPU) rose 39.1 percent to ETB174.93.

The operator expanded its network footprint by 12.0 percent year-on-year to 3,592 base stations.

Safaricom said improved local fuel availability helped stabilize network operations and improve uptime compared with previous periods.

M-PESA Users and Transactions More Than Double

M-PESA continued recording rapid customer adoption during the quarter. Three-month active M-PESA customers increased 131.3 percent year-on-year to 5.69 million.

Transaction volumes rose 157.7 percent to 108.7 million, while total transaction value increased 174.8 percent to KSh16.03 billion.

Despite the increase in customer activity, reported M-PESA revenue declined 15.6 percent year-on-year to KSh4.3 million. On a constant-currency basis, revenue increased 3 percent.

M-PESA contributed about 2 percent of total service revenue in Ethiopia during the quarter.

Funding Reaches KSh345.7 Billion

Cumulative investment into Safaricom Ethiopia reached USD2.67 billion, equivalent to approximately KSh345.7 billion.

The funding comprises USD2.31 billion in shareholder equity and USD366 million in debt financing.

During the quarter, Safaricom PLC contributed an additional KSh1.4 billion, bringing its cumulative funding commitment to KSh159.6 billion.

Safaricom Group Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa said subscriber growth, revenue expansion and narrowing operational losses continue to support the company’s objective of reaching commercial EBITDA break-even by March 2027.

Management said no new tariff adjustments were implemented during the first quarter following pricing changes introduced in December 2025.

The company added that it intends to maintain pricing above cost in line with the evolving regulatory framework as it manages the effects of inflation and currency depreciation.

Safaricom Ethiopia said its priorities for the remainder of FY27 include expanding network coverage to support rising data demand, increasing M-PESA merchant acceptance and enterprise integration, maintaining disciplined capital allocation, and continuing the localisation of leadership roles within its Ethiopian operations.