Battle of the Telcos – Safaricom’s Market Share Shrinks as Airtel Gains by 1.1%

Statistics from the Communications Authority of Kenya have indicated that Safaricom’s mobile subscribers are shrinking whereas Airtel’s market share is gradually gaining.

According to a report released by the Authority, Safaricom’s market share for the months October to December dropped from 64.2 percent to 63.3 percent representing a decline of 0.9 percent.

Airtel, on the contrary, gained by 1.1 percent to stand at 23.4 percent. This was a notable gain from the initial 22.3 percent recorded previously.

On the other hand, Telkom’s subscribers remained the same with a market share of 9.0 percent. The same goes for Finserve Africa Limited at 4.2 percent, and Mobile Pay Limited at 0.2 percent.

Read Actions not Words will win the Online War Between Safaricom and Airtel

The figure below summarizes the report.

The reason for Safaricom’s loss of market share has been attributed to Raila Odinga’s remarks of boycotting the telecommunication network over claims that it influenced presidential votes in August 2017 elections.

Part of the loss of the market share regarding subscribers is also owed to Airtel’s aggressive advertisements wooing customers to the network.

The merger between Airtel and Telkom to form the second largest network in the country is bound to shake the market even further.

Read Airtel – Telkom Merger Taking Shape: Should Safaricom Be Uneasy?

The agreement will bring shareholders of the two telecommunication companies together for seamless service provision and particularly speeding up the introduction of enhanced technological innovations in the industry.

As per the agreement, both the partners will combine their operations in Kenya and establish an entity with enhanced scale and efficiency, larger distribution network and strategic brand presence.

The move will, thereby, enhance the range and quality of products and service offerings in the market, and greater choice and convenience to the consumer.

Meanwhile, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya, the number of total active mobile money subscriptions stood at 31.6 million whereas the number of agents was 223,931.

See Also Safaricom Customers Hit The 30 Million Mark

A total of 787.8 million Transactions worth 2.1 trillion shillings were made during the period under review. Mobile commerce transactions accounted for 586.9 million and were valued at 1.8 trillion shillings.

The value of P2P (person-to-person) transfers added up to 731.9 billion shillings.

Based on the report, perhaps the decline in Safaricom’s market share will ease things on the much-debated issue of dominance.

The competition authority was prompted to mull intervention especially after concerns were raised about Safaricom claiming a high market share. But as of now, Airtel is gaining subscribers faster than Safaricom.

Here is an overview of the number of subscribers for each network according to the statistics.

Read Telkom and Airtel Kenya Confirms Plans for Merger