Safaricom Plc’s funding contribution to its Ethiopian startup rose by Sh1.4 billion in three months to June 2026, underlining the telecoms increased interest in the business co-owned with partners including its parent Vodacom, Sumitomo Corporation, British International Investment (BII) and International Finance Corporation (IFC).
New disclosures from Safaricom place its total funding contribution to the business at Sh159.6 billion ($1.234 billion) at the end of June 2026 from Sh158.2 billion ($1.223 billion) in March.
The disclosures however do not provide a breakdown on the type of funding for Safaricom in the three months period.
The telecoms operator raised its stake in the Ethiopian unit to 54.1 percent in March 2026 from 51.67 percent a year earlier after a funding round that was restricted to entities in the Vodacom family –Safaricom and its parent firm Vodacom Group Limited.
Total funding for the unit topped Sh345.7 billion ($2.672 billion) in the quarter and included Sh298.3 billion ($2.306 billion) in equity, Sh15.5 billion ($120 million) in local currency debt and Sh31.8 billion ($246 million) in foreign currency debt from Standard Bank and the IFC.
“Safaricom Ethiopia is funded through shareholder equity, deferred vendor payments and third-party borrowings. Shareholders of the Global Partnership consortium for Ethiopia (GPE) contributed to US$2.306 million as of June 30, 2026,” Safaricom said in a funding update for the unit.
“This funding includes a license fee of $850 million (Sh109.9 billion) and the $150 million (Sh19.4 billion) M-Pesa license fee. The operating entity has also borrowed from the local market.”
The fresh disclosures come as Safaricom Ethiopia races against time to attain profitability at EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) level by March 2027.
The unit reached 14.7 million active customers in June this year to boost the drive to profitability.
Safaricom Ethiopia saw its number of three-month active customers rise by one million in the quarter to June 2026, from 13.63 million 90-day active customers as of the end of March this year.
The number of active customers on the network soared 46.1 percent year-on-year from 10.06 million in June 2025.
Safaricom and its parent firm diluted the stakes of three minority investors –Sumitomo, BII and IFC– in the unit’s funding round through 12 months to March 2026.
Stakes by the three entities stood at 23.5 percent, 9.5 percent and 6.81 percent respectively in March this year, while Vodacom’s share of the business was 6.02 percent.
The co-investors in its Ethiopia subsidiary retain powers to buy back the 2.78 percent stake lost when the latest equity investment in the unit was made in the year to March 2026.
In its latest annual report, Safaricom disclosed a shareholders’ agreement between parties, allowing the minority owners to clawback their lost stakes at a future date.
The parties could do so by acquiring shares directly from Safaricom and Vodacom, or through a proportional capital injection in cash calls that Safaricom and Vodacom sit out.
“In accordance with the shareholders’ agreement, the non-participating shareholders retain the right to acquire their respective “catch-up” shares from the group at a future date to restore their original ownership proportions,” Safaricom said.
