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M-Pesa joint venture in first Sh102m profit
A phone owner using Safaricom's My One App. The telco has updated its recently launched all-in-one mobile application to allow customers using Wi-Fi and rival mobile networks’ data to access services.
Safaricom and its South African parent Vodacom Group have made a profit from operations on their M-Pesa Africa joint venture for the first time as the platform hit 60 million users across Africa.
M-Pesa Africa controls the mobile money platform’s brand on the continent, licensing the telcos to operate it in eight countries through Safaricom, Vodacom and Vodafone.
In the year to March 2026, the joint venture reported a net profit of Sh102.5 million from a net loss of Sh2.47 billion in the previous year.
Its top line revenue rose by 20.6 percent to Sh8.08 billion, highlighting increased penetration of the brand on the continent as the telcos brought in new products on board.
M-Pesa Africa, whose ownership is evenly split between Safaricom and Vodacom, last turned in a profit --derived from a bargain purchase accounting-- in the year ended March 2020 when it made Sh6.59 billion.
Safaricom’s share of the profits or losses of the JV amounts to 50 percent, equivalent to its stake in it.
Safaricom and M-Pesa Africa maintain a managed services agreement where the latter provides technical and product-based M-Pesa solutions for a monthly fee, which is based on two percent of the mobile money platform’s transaction revenue.
Vodacom and Safaricom acquired the M-Pesa brand from Vodafone Plc in March 2020 at a cost of Sh2.1 billion.
The move saved Safaricom significant licence fees it was paying to the UK firm to use the brand, which now accrue to the JV through which it can recoup the costs through its share of profits.
The JV’s profit in the first year arose from the discount at which Safaricom and Vodacom acquired it from Vodafone. Vodafone is the majority shareholder of Vodacom with a 65.1 percent stake and until this month also held a five percent indirect equity in Safaricom, which it sold to Vodacom for Sh68.1 billion.
Vodacom on its part holds a majority 55 percent stake in Safaricom, which it recently increased from 35 percent. Alongside the five percent Vodafone stake acquisition, the South African firm also bought a 15 percent stake from the Kenya government for Sh204.3 billion.
The telcos have leveraged the M-Pesa brand by replicating their app and financial services portfolio across South Africa, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Mozambique and Tanzania.
In addition to acquiring the M-Pesa brand rights, Safaricom in 2023 also took over the ownership of M-Pesa Holding Company Limited from Vodafone.
The acquisition for a token amount of $1 gave Safaricom wider control over its mobile money business which was pioneered in Kenya but whose intellectual property was previously held by Vodafone.
M-Pesa Holding keeps custody of the hundreds of billions of shillings powering its mobile money service in a trust, effectively acting as an independent trustee for M-Pesa customers.
When it was in the hands of Vodafone, all profits generated by the company were donated for use for public charitable purposes after defraying direct costs.
In Kenya, the M-Pesa platform has grown over the years to become the biggest revenue earner for Safaricom, ahead of voice and data services.
In the year to March 2026, M-Pesa revenue grew by 13.4 percent to Sh182.74 billion, accounting for 42 percent of the company’s total revenue of Sh427.6 billion. Voice revenue grew by 3.5 percent to Sh84.8 billion, while mobile and fixed data revenue was up 17.3 percent to Sh111.8 billion.
The company’s net profit rose by 37 percent to Sh95.6 billion in the period, primarily driven by the increase in M-Pesa revenue and lower losses in its Ethiopia business.
