• About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Kenyan Business Feed
  • Home
  • African
  • News
    • Agribusiness
    • Courts
    • Hospitality
    • Manufacturing
  • Education
  • Health
  • Reports & Analysis
  • World Business
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • African
  • News
    • Agribusiness
    • Courts
    • Hospitality
    • Manufacturing
  • Education
  • Health
  • Reports & Analysis
  • World Business
No Result
View All Result
Kenyan Business Feed
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Safaricom to buy M-Pesa rights from Vodafone : The Standard

Kenyan Business Feed by Kenyan Business Feed
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

[ad_1]

  • Reuters 24th May 2019 07:02:26 GMT +0300
Bob Collymore
Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore [Photo, Courtesy]

Safaricom will start a joint venture with Vodacom to acquire the intellectual property rights to the popular M-Pesa mobile financial services platform from Britain’s Vodafone, Safaricom’s CEO said on Thursday.

The Sh1.3billion (USD13.4 million)deal will let both purchasers make significant savings in royalties paid to Vodafone and expand the service to new African markets, said Bob Collymore, Safaricom’s CEO.
“We are taking ownership of M-Pesa, the brand and the intellectual property. Joint ownership between us and Vodacom and we then use that as a platform into running into other markets across the continent,” Collymore told Reuters in an interview.
Safaricom, the most profitable company in East Africa, pays 2 percent of its annual M-Pesa revenue to Vodafone. Revenue from M-Pesa stood at Sh75 billion in Safaricom’s financial year to the end of March.

SEE ALSO :M-Pesa helps drive up Kenyans’ access to financial services: study

Vodacom, a South African operator which owns 35 percent of Safaricom, pays 5 percent in an intellectual property fee to Vodafone from its M-Pesa business, which is mainly in Tanzania.
“More important than the significant savings is about us determining the future, the roadmap of M-Pesa because at the moment the roadmap is determined by Vodafone,” Collymore said.
“Given that the bulk of the M-Pesa business is in Africa, between Tanzania and Kenya, it is right for us to be determinants.”
The acquisition of the intellectual property rights by the new joint venture will allow the partners to more easily develop local products, Collymore said, pointing to Fuliza, an M-Pesa overdraft facility launched in Kenya in January.
Fuliza, which is operated jointly with two local banks, has garnered 8.8 million users who have borrowed a combined 45 billion shillings, Safaricom said earlier this month.
Apart from developing new products based on the M-Pesa platform, Safaricom and Vodacom also want to launch into other African markets.
Collymore cited Ethiopia, where economic liberalisation plans put in place by a new prime minister last year have left firms scrambling to position themselves for entry.
“We are watching Ethiopia closely because as we see the liberalisation of the markets, both the mobile payments market, the telecoms market and the banking sector, we think there could be opportunities,” he said.
Vodafone holds a 5 per cent stake in Safaricom.
Safaricom’s plan to form a joint venture with Vodacom and acquire the intellectual property rights to M-Pesa still requires regulatory and shareholder approvals in South Africa. It also requires regulatory approval in Kenya, Collymore said.
“We are putting everything in place just subject to getting the right approvals,” he said, adding the joint venture should be set up and the deal with Vodafone completed this year.

For the latest news in entertainment check out Sde.co.ke and Pulser.co.ke , for everything sports visit Gameyetu.co.ke and ladies we have you covered on Evewoman

Related Topics

MpesaSafaricomBob Collymore



[ad_2]

Source link


Kenyan Business Feed is the top Kenyan Business Blog. We share news from Kenya and across the region. To contact us with any alert, please email us to [email protected]
Kenyan Business Feed

Kenyan Business Feed

Recommended.

Chaos, order right mix for companies

May 15, 2019

Fate of impeached Waititu now lies with the Judiciary as Nyoro swearing-in is postponed

January 30, 2020

Subscribe.

Trending.

Safaricom’s SIG Forum empowers SMEs with branding insights from 3Verse Kenya, showcasing award-winning campaigns and inclusive business support.

Safaricom’s SIG Forum Empowers SMEs as 3Verse Kenya Shares Award-Winning Branding Strategies

June 23, 2025
Co-op Bank Launches New Financial Solutions to Empower MSMEs in Kenya

Co-op Bank Launches New Financial Solutions to Empower MSMEs in Kenya

June 23, 2025
Tourism CS Rebecca Miano discusses the economic impact and global appeal of the 2025 Safari Rally

Tourism CS Rebecca Miano Reveals Economic Impact of the 2025 Safari Rally

April 1, 2025
PLP and Safaricom Graduate 300 Youth in Push for Digital Talent Development Across Kenya

PLP and Safaricom Graduate 300 Youth to Boost Kenya’s Digital Talent Pipeline

June 23, 2025
Co-operative Bank Subsidiaries

Co-operative Bank Subsidiaries Shine with Strong 2024 Profits

April 2, 2025
Kenyan Business Feed

We focus on news, analysis, and reports about Kenyan business, covering sectors like agriculture, finance, tourism, and technology.

Categories

  • African
  • Agribusiness
  • Courts
  • Education
  • Health
  • Hospitality
  • Manufacturing
  • NetWorths
  • News
  • Reports & Analysis
  • World Business

Popular News

  • First look at the prison where El Chapo may live for the rest of his life

    First look at the prison where El Chapo may live for the rest of his life

    2157 shares
    Share 1040 Tweet 466
  • Sameer Africa CEO Sacked

    1803 shares
    Share 749 Tweet 439

Recent News

Co-op Bank Partners with WorldRemit to Power Seamless Diaspora Transfers in Kenya

Co-op Bank Partners with WorldRemit to Power Seamless Diaspora Transfers in Kenya

June 23, 2025
Co-op Bank Launches New Financial Solutions to Empower MSMEs in Kenya

Co-op Bank Launches New Financial Solutions to Empower MSMEs in Kenya

June 23, 2025
  • Home
  • African
  • News
  • Education
  • Health
  • Reports & Analysis
  • World Business

© 2025 KBF

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • African
  • News
    • Agribusiness
    • Courts
    • Hospitality
    • Manufacturing
  • Education
  • Health
  • Reports & Analysis
  • World Business

© 2025 KBF