Vodafone strikes gold with M-Pesa

The East African.

Safaricom's latest annual report reveals that Vodafone earned $21 million in the current financial year trading with its Kenyan subsidiary.

Stock market analysts say the continued strength of the Safaricom share is hinged not so much on the company's voice business - where tariffs dropped drastically in the past year - but on M-Pesa, states Business Daily Africa.

The Wall Street Journal Online says the strong growth in M-Pesa subscriber numbers has helped Safaricom hold on to some of its customers at a time when mobile service providers in Kenya have been slashing call rates to expand their subscriber base.

Safaricom currently has over 17 million subscribers in Kenya, commanding a share of more than 70% of the Kenyan mobile market.

Microfinance Focus reveals that M-Pesa has reported a growth of 56% in its revenue, according to the company's annual report. Safaricom earned around $130 million in revenue from M-Pesa in Kenya.