Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC (STE) recorded a 30.7% growth in total revenue in the first quarter of the FY26 to KES 3.0 billion, up from KES 2.3 billion in the first quarter of FY25, with overall Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) up 41.3% to KES 132.70.
Mobile data revenue rose by 26.1% to reach KES 2.0 billion, contributing 68.3% of the total revenue. The revenue profile’s ARPU grew by 17.6% to KES 124.28 in the review period. Notably, voice recorded the highest increase across all revenue profiles, up 127.5% year-on-year to KES 622 million from KES 273.4 million in the first quarter of FY25. Its ARPU increased by 98.4%, while minutes of use rose by 58.1% to 144.88 minutes in the period under review.
Messaging revenue totaled KES 35.7 million, up 115.1% from KES 16.6 million in the first quarter of FY25, mainly driven by a 29.4% increase in SMS per user to 25.06 SMSs in the quarter. Safaricom’s mobile money platform, M-PESA, posted revenue of KES 5 million, up 20% from KES 4.2 million in the Q1 FY25. Similarly, the fintech’s total transaction value increased by 23.5% to KES 5.8 billion from KES 4.7 billion in Q1 FY25.
Safaricom’s 10 million customers landmark
In the period under review, Safaricom Ethiopia reached a milestone in active customers. M-PESA’s active customer base reached 10.06 million customers, and Safaricom Plc Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa said that the accomplishment underscores the firm’s commitment to supporting Ethiopia’s digital transformation through inclusive and high-quality mobile connectivity.
“Achieving an active customer base of 10 million is a significant milestone for us, but it also brings with it great responsibility, a family, a business, and a future.” – Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC CEO Wim Vanhelleputte
Across service profiles, M-PESA customers recorded the largest growth, up 153.1% to 2.46 million three-month active customers, while voice recorded the least growth, up 129.4% to 8.77 million three-month active customers. Since the launch of M-PESA in 2023, the mobile money transfer platform has registered 16.74 million customers. Mobile data and messaging recorded 144.3% and 137.6% growth in three-month active customers to 7.84 million and 5.24 million customers, respectively.
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