Mobile money subscriptions in Kenya grew by 7.3% to reach 45.4 million users in the quarter ending March 2025.
This is according to the Third Quarter Sector Statistics Report for the Financial Year 2024/2025 (January–March 2025) released by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).
According to the report, this growth pushed the country’s mobile money penetration rate to 86.6%.
The growth in mobile money subscriptions, CA says, is synonymous to the increase in active mobile (SIM) subscriptions. During the period, active mobile (SIM) subscriptions grew by 6.7 per cent to 76.2 million, translating to a penetration rate of 145.3 per cent.
‘’This growth in active mobile (SIM) subscriptions is attributed to the various customer win-back campaigns run by the operators during the reference period,’’ CA says in the report.
Despite the overall growth in mobile money subscriptions, the report reveals a shift in the mobile money market dynamics. Safaricom’s M-Pesa, which has long dominated the sector, saw its market share decline to 90.8%, down from 94.9% during the same period last year. This marks a significant drop for the leading mobile money service provider.
Meanwhile, Airtel Money continued its upward trajectory, increasing its market share to 9.1% from 5.1% over the same period. The growth reflects Airtel Kenya’s ongoing push to offer more affordable and accessible financial services, including zero-rated transactions and increased interoperability.
In May this year, Safaricom revealed that it is investing over $309 million annually to transform M-Pesa into a resilient, cloud-native ecosystem. While the company called the strategy one for future-proofing, it also indicated a high-stakes reaction to ever-increasing pressure from competitors like Airtel Money.
Airtel Money, on the other hand, has also been on an onslaught of the Kenyan market through partnerships and prominent market presence. With strategic partners such as KCB, Naivas, Moja Expressway, among others, Airtel Money says it is offering Kenyans a choice of value for money mobile money services. The company has also expanded its agent and dedicated Airtel Money branches footprint across the country..
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