Kenya: Safaricom Must Avoid Monopolistic Tendencies

9 November 2013
opinion

Safaricom, the listed telecommunications provider, this week continued its amazing journey, announcing that in just six months, it generated Sh61billion in revenues or Sh10billion a month. That works out to well over Sh300million daily! After paying for its expenses, the company found itself with over Sh10 billion in cash that it could choose to give to shareholders or donate to charity without affecting its operations. That is called free cash flow. This is the result of hard work, smart investments in technology and people and a drive to excel.

It is what has seen it become the most profitably company in the region and the largest taxpayer. It is also undisputedly, the dominant telecommunications provider with monopoly like numbers in all categories it does business in except fixed internet. Businesses have thrived of it; over 78,000 Mpesa agents countrywide, dealers, suppliers, banks and so on. But in as much as it has trail-blazed in so many areas, Safaricom must also remember that quite a good number of great minds reside outside of its premises.

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