Safaricom M-Pesa users transacted a whopping Ksh.35.86 trillion in the last year through the telco’s mobile money services.

This is according to audited results for Financial Year ending March 2023.

The data shows that M-Pesa remains Safaricom’s leading revenue earner.  Total transaction value grew by 21.4% to Ksh.35.86 trillion, with volumes rising by 33.5% to Ksh.21.03 billion.

the rise in M-Pesa revenue to increased usage and growth of chargeable transactions per one-month active customers by 16.2%.

“M-Pesa remains the biggest revenue earner accounting for 39.7% of service revenue,” said Safaricom board Chair Adil Khawaja.

“The slowdown in M-PESA growth was mainly due to macroeconomic effects on the economy which affected the business activity.”

Safaricom also noted that while monthly active M-Pesa customers grew by 5.2% to 32.11 million, the Average Revenue per Unit (ARPU) rose 1.9% YoY (Year over Year) to Ksh.311.28.

Overall, Safaricom PLC recorded a Ksh.52.5 billion profit for the financial year ending March 2023, marking a 22 percent dip from the Ksh.67.5 billion recorded in 2022.

Adil Khawaja attributed the drop to factors like the Russia-Ukraine war and the 2022 General Election.

Safaricom also announced that it has officially been granted the license to operate mobile money services in Ethiopia.

“We are excited that this is a great milestone following our entry into Ethiopia. This positions us to provide essential financial services to the Ethiopian population. We are looking forward to launch and roll out the service over the next few months,” said Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa.

“Since the commercial launch in October, the brand is visible, deeply rooted in the Ethiopia and quickly becoming in every sense fabric of the society. The potential for Ethiopia is immense and we look forward to the future with optimism and excitement,” Ndegwa added.