Safaricom Ethiopia’s customer base has grown, reaching 4.6 million subscribers in the second quarter ending July.
This marks an increase of about 250,000 subscribers from the previous quarter. The company’s subscriber base stood at 4.35 million between January and March. Safaricom Ethiopia indicated that as of the end of June 2024, they had 4.6 million three-month active customers on their network, with one-month active customers closing at 3.4 million.
The telco has attributed the growth in customers to commercial momentum, particularly since the launch of operations in the Tigray region. Their overall Service Revenue Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) at the end of Q1 FY25 was KES 155.3, showing an 87.9% year-on-year increase.
Safaricom Ethiopia was established in 2022 in Ethiopia, extending the telco’s customer base beyond Kenya. The Ethiopian unit collaborates with Safaricom PLC, Vodacom Group, Sumitomo Corporation, and British International Investment.
In 2023, Safaricom Ethiopia received a boost when the National Bank of Ethiopia granted it a mobile money license, paving the way for investment opportunities through M-Pesa.
However, the capital-intensive investment in the Ethiopian unit has impacted Safaricom’s overall profit, which decreased by 18.71% in the fiscal year ending in March this year.
