By Business Insider Correspondent
Vodacom Group has announced a major step in its regional expansion strategy with a R36 billion (US$2.1 billion) agreement that will increase its stake in Safaricom PLC from 35 percent to a controlling 55 percent, pending regulatory approvals.
The transaction, unveiled last week, involves the purchase of a 15 percent shareholding from the Government of Kenya and an additional 5 percent from Vodafone at a price of KSh34 per share.
Safaricom will remain publicly listed in Nairobi, with the Kenyan government retaining a strategic 20 percent stake and a seat on the board.
Vodacom Group CEO, Shameel Joosub, (pictured below) described the deal as a milestone in the company’s Vision2030 agenda, saying majority ownership of Safaricom will position the Group to accelerate digital inclusion across East Africa.
The acquisition is expected to strengthen Vodacom’s financial profile, with Safaricom’s results set to shift from associate reporting to full consolidation under international accounting standards, pushing group revenues toward R220 billion.
Safaricom CEO, Peter Ndegwa, welcomed the development, noting that Vodacom has been central to the company’s success since inception.
He said the deal reflects long-term confidence in Safaricom’s growth trajectory, particularly as it expands into Ethiopia, one of Africa’s largest emerging telecom markets. Ndegwa said the company will continue to scale key services including M-Pesa, cloud platforms, enterprise solutions and Internet of Things businesses.
For East Africa, the deal marks a significant shift in the region’s digital landscape. Safaricom remains one of the continent’s most valuable telecom and fintech companies, and Vodacom’s move for control underscores growing investor confidence in Africa’s digital markets.
The transaction is also expected to deepen cross-border integration in key areas such as mobile payments, digital finance, enterprise connectivity and e-commerce.
Tanzania, where Vodacom is the largest operator, is poised to benefit from the consolidation. A stronger alignment between Vodacom Tanzania and Safaricom could accelerate development of regional payment systems and expand the reach of M-Pesa, which already dominates mobile financial services in East Africa.
Industry analysts say the deal could boost investment in digital infrastructure, including fibre networks, data centres and enterprise solutions, all of which are critical to Tanzania’s ambitions to position itself as a regional ICT hub.
The agreement also comes at a time when Safaricom is rapidly growing its operations in Ethiopia, offering new opportunities for Tanzanian businesses involved in fintech, technology services and cross-border trade. With Ethiopia’s large population and increasing digital uptake, the country is widely viewed as East Africa’s next major telecom frontier.
In Kenya, government officials have described the sale of part of its Safaricom stake as part of broader economic reforms aimed at unlocking capital for public investment without raising taxes or increasing national debt.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said Nairobi will remain an active shareholder in Safaricom and views the company as a key strategic asset.
The scale of the Vodacom–Safaricom transaction highlights the central role digital infrastructure now plays in Africa’s economic outlook.
It reinforces the importance of mobile money, broadband connectivity and fintech innovation to regional integration and long-term growth.
Despite global economic uncertainty, the deal signals strong confidence in Africa’s digital economy and the value generated by homegrown technological innovation. As regulatory approvals proceed, the transaction is expected to become a defining moment in East Africa’s telecom sector – solidifying Vodacom’s position in the region, strengthening Safaricom’s expansion efforts and opening a new chapter in the continent’s digital transformation.
