Vodacom Tightens Its Grip on M-Pesa as Africa's Mobile-Money Race Heats Up

The battle for Africa's mobile-money market has entered a decisive new phase, with South Africa's Vodacom completing a $2.1 billion deal to take majority control of Kenya's Safaricom — and, with it, a firmer grip on M-Pesa, the continent's most valuable fintech asset.

The transaction, which closed at the end of June, lifted Vodacom's stake in Safaricom to 55 percent. That matters because M-Pesa, the pioneering mobile-money service that transformed how Kenyans send and store money, generates roughly 44 percent of Safaricom's Kenyan revenue and ranks among the most prized financial-technology assets in any emerging market.

Yet even as Vodacom consolidates, the competitive ground is shifting. M-Pesa's share of Kenyan mobile-money subscriptions has slipped below 90 percent for the first time, easing to around 89.7 percent, while rival Airtel Money has climbed to just over 10 percent — a modest but symbolically significant crack in a near-monopoly.

Across the continent, the rivalry is fiercer still. MTN's MoMo platform processed just over $500 billion in transaction value in 2025, growing more than 35 percent year on year, and now counts some 69.5 million monthly active users across more than 14 markets — the largest mobile-money footprint in Africa. Airtel, meanwhile, is weighing an initial public offering of its own mobile-money arm that could raise up to $2 billion.

The stakes reach far beyond corporate league tables. Mobile money has become the financial backbone for hundreds of millions of Africans without traditional bank accounts, powering everything from market trading to cross-border remittances. Whoever wins this contest will help shape how a rising continent moves its money for years to come.