Vodacom Group plans to roll out financial services products in its new market of Egypt, using the super app it is developing alongside China’s Alibaba Group.
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Vodacom Group’s half-year headline earnings fell 9.5% due to start-up losses in Ethiopia and higher finance costs.
Safaricom, Kenya’s biggest telecommunications operator, has reported a 10% drop in its first-half net income.
Shares of Safaricom surged more than 9% on Friday after it secured a mobile financial services licence in Ethiopia.
A Safaricom-led investor group, which includes Vodacom, has launched mobile services in Ethiopia after securing an operating licence from the government.
M-Pesa and Visa have launched a virtual payment card in a bid to capture some of Africa’s $40-billion/year subscriptions market.
Vodacom Group is mulling a bond issue and will pay a smaller proportion of its earnings in dividends as it looks to finance new growth plans.
Vodacom Group on Monday declared a full-year dividend of R4.30/share after reporting a solid performance from South Africa, its biggest market.
Safaricom is encouraged by the positive outlook in Ethiopia and plans to start operations there this year, its CEO said.
MTN Group will look for minority investors in its African fintech unit after separating the division from its traditional telecommunications business.