Airtel Kenya Beats Safaricom in New SIM Card Registrations in 2024/2025 FY Third Quarter
- The Communications Authority of Kenya released the sector statistics report for the third quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year
- The report highlighted the number of mobile subscriptions in Kenya for the top telecommunications companies
- During the period under review, the country's SIM card registrations rose by 6.7%, as Airtel added more customers than Safaricom
TUKO.co.ke journalist Japhet Ruto has over eight years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting and offers deep insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.
In the first three months of 2025, Airtel Kenya acquired 3.01 million SIM card subscriptions compared to Safaricom's 1.7 million, surpassing the 24 million milestone for the first time.
Source: Twitter
According to the Communications Authority of Kenya's (CA) most recent industry data, Airtel had 24.5 million active SIM cards as of the end of March, up 13.95% from 21.5 million at the end of December 2024.
In contrast, rival network Safaricom increased its user base by 3.6% over the same period, reaching 48.2 million users in March from 46.6% at the end of the previous year.
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What's the SIM card subscription rate in Kenya?
This occurred at a period when the five carriers under analysis saw an overall industry gain in SIM subscriptions of 6.7%, from 71.4 million to 76.2 million.
The overall number of subscribers exceeds the population of the nation because many of them have numerous lines.
On the other hand, Equitel, Telkom, and Jamii Telecommunications Limited (JTL) had 1.5 million, 1.2 million, and 0.7 million subscribers as of the end of March.
"During the period ending March 2025, active mobile (SIM) subscriptions grew by 6.7% to 76.2 million, translating to a market rate of 145.3%. This growth is attributed to the various customer win-back campaigns run by the operators during the reference period," CA stated.
Source: Twitter
What did the Airtel Kenya CEO say?
The expansion by Airtel coincides with the telco's vigorous push to increase service capacity, which includes installing new network masts in underdeveloped areas.
"We are deeply humbled by the support of over 24 million clients who continue to place their trust in us. This is merely a milestone on a longer journey, not the final destination.
"Even though we have made significant investments, we are committed to Kenya, and our mission of enriching lives and driving progress is still not done," Airtel Kenya managing director Ashish Malhotra stated.
What was Safaricom's profit?
In other news, Safaricom's net profit increased significantly for the fiscal year that concluded on March 30, 2025.
The top telecom company recorded a profit after tax of KSh 45.8 billion, up 7.3% from KSh 42.6 billion.
As a result, the telco became the first company in the East African region to cross the KSh 300 billion mark in revenue.
Peter Ndegwa, the CEO of Safaricom, credited the expansion to robust business innovation and digitisation.
Following the addition of a final ordinary share payment of 65 cents to the previously paid interim 55 cents, it declared a dividend payout of KSh 48.08 billion.
Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
