In 2016, Kenya’s communications regulator, the Communications Authority (CA), commissioned a UK-based consultancy firm, Analysys Mason (AM), to investigate the competitive landscape of the local telecoms market.
In leaked reports from 2017, AM initially recommended that Safaricom, Kenya’s lead telecom operator, separate its carrier business from its mobile money services (M-PESA). However, in a subsequent official report, AM reversed its stance, arguing that such a split would be “disproportionate.”
Since then, regulators and lawmakers have pressed Safaricom to separate its voice, data, and SMS business from its other operations. In 2021, a parliamentary bill aimed at compelling Safaricom to split was introduced but failed to gain sufficient support. The bill, Kenya ICT (Amendment) Bill, was revived in 2022 and received its first hearing.
That same year, Airtel Kenya, the country’s second-largest operator, separated its mobile money services from its core business.
On September 28, Kenyan members of parliament (MPs) held a second deliberation on the proposal to split Safaricom, signalling their continued intent to push for the separation.
While Safaricom has resisted the split, it hinted at plans—through its CEO Peter Ndegwa—to form a holding company (HoldCo) in 2025 with divisions for its various business lines. Under this new structure, M-PESA, which accounts for nearly half of Safaricom’s revenue, would become a subsidiary within the same business as data, voice, and messaging.
However, a key obstacle to the split is a KES 75 billion ($581 million) tax bill. Safaricom executives have met with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to discuss a potential tax waiver, but the outcomes of these discussions remain unclear.
