Safaricom PLC with headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, is among the most prosperous mobile network operators in Africa and beyond. The company brags multi-billion profits from multiple products such as MPesa – the most successful mobile financial solution in East Africa. Who are the owners of Safaricom PLC?
The firm offers mobile telecommunication solutions, consumer electronics, e-commerce, cloud computing, music streaming, broadband services, fiber optic services, and mobile money transfer. We take a closer look at Safaricom founders, investors, and a speedily ballooning subscriber base.
Who are the owners of Safaricom PLC? List of shareholders
The shareholding structure of Safaricom PLC comprises the government of Kenya at 35%, the South Africa-based Vodacom at 35%, Vodafone at 5%, and free float at 25%.
Here is a tabulated breakdown of all investors against their percentage of shares at Safaricom.
| Shareholder | Shares, Percentage |
| Government of Kenya | 35% |
| Vodacom | 35% |
| Vodafone | 5% |
| Free float | 25% |
Safaricom with about 40 million subscribers controls about 70 percent of the Kenyan market, with stiff competition against Telkom Kenya and Airtel Kenya.
A shareholders statement published on https://safaricom.co.ke portal reads as follows;
“Our shareholders expect us to remain a high-performing company that balances delivering consistent and sustainable financial returns against ethical and environmentally responsible operations.
As a reflection of this, they expect us to retain a stable, experienced, and proven management team and to uphold the very highest standards of corporate governance and practices.
Our shareholding structure changed during the year and is currently comprised of the Government of Kenya (35 percent), Vodacom (35 percent), Vodafone (5 percent), and free float (25 percent).”
Safaricom PLC website.
The company continues to excel in fostering sustainable development in financial markets.
Is Safaricom a private company? Who owns MPesa?
Established in 1997 as a subsidiary of Telkom Kenya, Safaricom launched its operations as a private limited liability company. It was eventually upgraded to a public company in 2002 with government shares at 60%.
As we speak, Vodafone owns the intellectual property rights of MPesa. Continued efforts to transfer the MPesa brand and its intellectual rights to Safaricom are yet to succeed.
While the government of Kenya and Vodacom are giant shareholders, Vodafone owns MPesa rights and its intellectual properties.
