Airtel dents M-Pesa's grip as Vodacom tightens Safaricom control

Kenya's dominant mobile-money service M-Pesa has seen its market share slip below 90% for the first time, as rival Airtel makes inroads and the sector's ownership shifts.

M-Pesa remains hugely profitable, with revenue rising 13.4% to 182.7 billion shillings in the year to March 2026, accounting for nearly half of parent Safaricom's sales. But Airtel has grown its mobile-money share past 10%, the first meaningful erosion of M-Pesa's long-standing dominance.

Safaricom has responded by opening its 'My One App' to customers on other networks and in the diaspora, easing restrictions that had locked out non-Safaricom users. It has also launched a product allowing M-Pesa users to invest in shares and bonds directly from their phones, in partnership with the Nairobi bourse.

The competitive landscape is shifting further as regulators licensed both Safaricom and Airtel Money to connect mobile-money users to capital-markets products, deepening the link between everyday payments and investment.

At the corporate level, Vodacom is set to become Safaricom's controlling shareholder with a 55% stake, after buying holdings from the Kenyan government and Vodafone. The moves underscore how Kenya's fintech market — a global pioneer of mobile money — is entering a new, more contested phase.