Many people don’t have smartphones,” Chief Executive Peter Ndegwa told Reuters after an online investor briefing. Data is one of Safaricom’s fastest-growing revenue lines and it hopes that increased smartphone usage will boost it further. Customers will pay as little as Sh20 a day for nine months, Ndegwa said, as Safaricom seeks to eventually convert about 4 million 2G and 3G-enabled phones to 4G. Rapid growth in the data business during the second half lifted Safaricom’s annual earnings before interest and tax 13.3 per cent to Sh101.5 billion ($950 million). Revenue from mobile data, where Safaricom has been aggressively fighting for market share by offering internet bundles without expiry, rose 12.1 per cent to Sh40.7 billion.

Source: Standard Digital May 01, 2020 07:30 UTC