KENYA · BUSINESS
Key Facts
- The company Safaricom is Kenya’s biggest mobile operator and runs the M-Pesa mobile money service.
- What happened Its Ethiopian unit cut its half-year EBITDA loss, a core operating measure, by 96.5% to 434.4 million Kenyan shillings (KES), about US$3.3 million.
- The group Net income rose 35.9% to KES 58.2 billion (about US$448 million) in the six months to 30 September.
- The target Safaricom aims for break-even in Ethiopia by 31 March 2027, the end of its financial year.
- The customers Ethiopia now has 15.4 million customers who used the network in the past three months.
Safaricom, Kenya’s biggest phone company, says its young Ethiopian business is almost paying its own way. The unit’s EBITDA loss, meaning its loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, was just 434.4 million Kenyan shillings (KES), or about US$3.3 million, in the six months to 30 September 2026, against more than KES 12 billion (about US$93 million) a year before.
Safaricom announced the results in Nairobi on Thursday 5 November 2026, and they show a group that earns more in Kenya while it funds a costly bet next door. For US readers, the numbers show how fast a new African telecom can move toward break-even, and our Ethiopia coverage follows the wider economy.
What Happened
Safaricom Ethiopia, the group’s subsidiary in which Safaricom holds a majority stake, grew service revenue by 71.6% to KES 10.6 billion (about US$82 million). Its customer count with activity in the past three months rose 38.4% to 15.4 million.
Measured in Ethiopian birr, the local currency, service revenue grew by 102.1%. Safaricom reports its group results in Kenyan shillings.
Safaricom Group chief executive Peter Ndegwa said the results bring the company closer to its goal of EBITDA break-even in Ethiopia by the end of this financial year. EBITDA means earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, a measure of day-to-day operating results.
The Group Behind It
Across the whole group, net income rose 35.9% to KES 58.2 billion (about US$448 million). Service revenue grew 13.1% to KES 226.1 billion (about US$1.74 billion), and EBITDA rose 27.5% to KES 129.2 billion (about US$995 million).
Kenya remains the engine, with service revenue up 11.3% to KES 216 billion (about US$1.66 billion). Operating profit there, measured as earnings before interest and tax, rose 13.7% to KES 101.8 billion (about US$784 million), the first half-year above KES 100 billion.
M-Pesa, the mobile money service that lets Kenyans pay, send and borrow money from a phone, earned KES 100.1 billion (about US$771 million), up 13.6%. We use KES 129.85 per US dollar, the 6 November 2026 rate from RT, a market data provider.
How Ethiopia Became the Big Bet
Safaricom has funded the Ethiopian start-up for years, and the narrowing loss shows that spending starting to pay off. Earlier coverage in our report on Ethiopia’s economy shows why investors are drawn to the country.
Management has said a base of 15 million to 20 million customers and a network near 4,000 sites are the thresholds that matter. Safaricom kept its full-year guidance for an Ethiopian operating loss, measured after depreciation, of KES 12 billion to KES 15 billion (about US$92 million to US$116 million).
Management also said it could discuss further price changes with Ethiopia’s telecom regulator. That points to a market where revenue gains come from both more users and higher prices.
What It Means for You
If you hold funds with African telecom exposure, Safaricom is the clearest test of whether a new entrant can build scale in Ethiopia. The shares trade in Nairobi in shillings, so currency moves also matter; read our note on Kenya’s plan for upfront spectrum fees.
Travelers to Kenya or Ethiopia can see the effect in cheaper and faster mobile data, and in M-Pesa payments at small shops in Kenya. Businesses sending money to Kenya should expect M-Pesa to stay the main way recipients get paid.
What Is Not Known
It is not known whether Ethiopia reaches EBITDA break-even by 31 March 2027, since the loss of KES 434.4 million is small but not yet zero. Break-even at that level also leaves interest, tax and depreciation costs, so a net profit is further away.
The company has not given a date for net profit. It has also not said how large any price change could be.
More: Kenya news in English, every day from The Rio Times. Also read about Safaricom’s fraud crackdown.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Did Safaricom Ethiopia Lose?
Its loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was KES 434.4 million (about US$3.3 million) in the six months to 30 September 2026. A year earlier it was more than KES 12 billion (about US$93 million).
When Will Safaricom Ethiopia Break Even?
Safaricom targets EBITDA break-even by the end of its financial year on 31 March 2027. Break-even at that level does not yet mean a net profit.
What Is M-Pesa?
M-Pesa is Safaricom’s mobile money service, which lets Kenyans pay, send and borrow money from a phone. Its revenue passed KES 100 billion (about US$771 million) in a half-year for the first time.
Can US Investors Buy Safaricom?
Safaricom shares trade on the Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenyan shillings. Investors in the United States should check with their broker whether they can access that market.
Sources: Safaricom PLC, results for the six months ended 30 September 2026, announced 5 November 2026 (statements by Group CEO Peter Ndegwa, Chairman Adil Khawaja and Safaricom Ethiopia CEO Wim Vanhelleputte); Nairobi Securities Exchange, company announcements; Safaricom Ethiopia; RT exchange rate USD/KES, 6 November 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error