Oi,
Victoria here,
Here's what I've got for you today:
- Safaricom's earnings shot up by 20.4% for the 2023/2024 financial year
- House of Reps asks CBN to withdraw cybersecurity levy circular
- Airtel Money to go public in 2025
- Angola Cables and Camtel to supercharge connectivity services in Cameroon
Safaricom's earnings shot up by 20.4% for the 2023/2024 financial year
Safaricom just dropped its financial report for the 2023/2024 financial year, and guess what? They're rolling in dough, thanks to their M-Pesa mobile money platform.
Even though they took a hit in Ethiopia, they still racked up massive profits. Excluding interest and taxes in Kenya, their earnings shot up by a whopping 20.4% to Ksh 139.9 billion.
And even with the Ethiopia losses factored in, Safaricom still saw a 3.5% growth in earnings before interest and taxation, hitting Ksh 94.9 billion.
Over in Kenya, it's raining money for Safaricom. Service revenue soared by 11.7% to Ksh 329.8 billion, with earnings before interest and tax spiking by 20.4% to Ksh 139.9 billion.
M-Pesa's the real MVP here, bringing in a staggering 42% of Safaricom's service revenue, totaling Ksh 139.9 billion. And get this: total M-Pesa transactions hit a mind-blowing Ksh 40.2 trillion!
But hold up, there's more. Safaricom's service revenue across the board jumped by 13.4% to Ksh 335.4 billion, with net income hitting Ksh 63 billion.
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Now, let's talk about Kenya. In their Kenyan operations, Safaricom saw some serious growth, with service revenue shooting up by 11.7% to Ksh 329.8 billion.
Their EBIT and EBITDA also saw some nice bumps, and their net income for Kenya climbed by 13.7% to Ksh 84.7 billion.
And get this: consumer payments through M-Pesa accounted for a whopping 64.6% of total income.
But it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Safaricom's Fuliza overdraft service lost a million customers in 2023, dropping from 8.1 million to 7.1 million. The service's revenues took a nosedive, falling by 28.4% to Kshs 3.9 billion.
House of Reps ask CBN to withdraw cybersecurity levy circular
Members of the House of Representatives are up in arms about the Central Bank of Nigeria's recent move to implement a 0.5% cybersecurity levy.
They're calling it "ambiguous" and demanding that the CBN pull back the circular and make it clearer.
The House Minority Leader, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, raised the alarm, pointing out that there are different interpretations of the CBN directive that don't quite match up with the Cybercrimes Act.
Basically, the Cybercrimes Act says that certain businesses should pay this levy, like telecom companies, banks, and others. But the CBN circular seems to suggest that the levy should be paid by bank customers, which doesn't line up with the law.
So, the House is saying, "Hey CBN, let's get this straight." They're calling for a clearer directive that sticks to the letter and spirit of the Cybercrimes Act.
This all stems from a recent CBN circular telling banks to start deducting this levy from electronic transactions. But the House isn't having it until things are crystal clear.
And just to add some pressure, the House has tasked its committees to make sure the CBN gets it right. Looks like there's some back and forth happening between the lawmakers and the central bank on this one.
Airtel Money to go public in 2025
Airtel Africa is reportedly gearing up to take its mobile money unit public in 2025, and they're planning to expand the service to even more African countries.
Right now, this mobile money magic is happening in fourteen countries across the continent.
According to CEO Olusegun Ogunsanya, they're aiming to make the big move to the stock market next year, but he's keeping mum on which stock exchange they'll go for.
Now, here's where it gets interesting: Airtel Money is like their golden goose, growing faster than anything else they've got. It's looking like it could be worth a cool $4 billion or more.
And get this: while Airtel's been facing some rough financial patches lately, this mobile money gig has been holding its own, raking in big bucks.
In fact, their mobile money transactions shot up by over 38% in some places, with a total value of more than $112 billion! Plus, they've got a whopping 38 million customers and counting. Not too shabby, huh?
And Airtel's not the only one cashing in on this mobile money craze. Seems like everyone's jumping on the bandwagon, with big names like Mastercard getting in on the action.
Airtel's got a pretty solid game plan, too. They're dominating in six key markets, thanks to being the first ones on the scene with stuff like ATMs and a massive network of mobile money branches.
So yeah, Airtel's making some big moves in the world of mobile money, and it looks like they're not slowing down anytime soon!
Angola Cables and Camtel to supercharge connectivity services in Cameroon
Angola Cables, a big shot in network services and digital solutions, is teaming up with Camtel, the telecom bigwig in Cameroon. They're joining forces to supercharge digital and connectivity services in Cameroon and across West Africa.
So, what's the deal? Well, they're all about boosting redundancy, beefing up network resilience, and making sure the quality of services is top-notch.
And how are they doing it? By tapping into Angola Cables' subsea cables like SACS, WACS, and Monet, along with Camtel's South Atlantic Inter Link (SAIL).
With these heavy hitters combined, businesses and folks in West Africa will have more capacity options and smoother traffic access to local and regional networks.
Fernando Fernandes from TelCables Nigeria, which is part of Angola Cables, is pretty pumped about this partnership. He reckons it could totally revolutionise Internet connectivity and data transmission in West Africa.
Besides, Camtel's CEO, Judith Yah Sunday Epse Achidi, is all in too. She's talking about leveraging Angola Cables' network and other submarine cables to dish out flexible and secure services to their clients and businesses.
Overall, this partnership is a big win for telecoms and digital connectivity in Africa. It's all about securing connectivity, boosting trade, and helping businesses grow across the region.
In case you missed it
- The 0.5% cybersecurity levy does not affect you. Here are 6 answers to questions about the levy
- iProcure, a Kenyan agritech startup, files for bankruptcy amid capital shortfall
- Alerzo cuts its headcount in another round of layoffs
- SA's Lesaka acquires payment provider Adumo 3 months after Heineken Analytics deal
What I'm reading and watching
- Detention of Binance Employee: Before More Multinationals Pull Out of Nigeria
- Earthquakes, cancers, parasites: The work of a 'cosmic prankster'? Sharon Dirckx vs Stephen Woodford
- BROKEN
Opportunities
- If you're a Product Designer and are looking for a remote role, check out this link for several roles.
- Several companies are looking for software engineers. Check out this link to work remotely with them.
- Check out this link for several remote Product Manager roles.
- Seedstars has announced INFUSE 2024, a global invitation for innovative applications aimed at fortifying health systems against climate threats and improving immunisation delivery. Apply here.
- Explore this website to find multiple job opportunities in Data that align with your preferences.
- If you are a software engineer, creative designer, product manager, design researcher, or a techie looking for an internship role, please, check out this website.
Have a fun weekend!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa.
