Safaricom’s Shift From Telecom to Tech Company Is Getting Clearer

For years, telecom companies measured themselves through coverage maps, call minutes and subscriber growth. Increasingly, the language coming from large operators revolves around platforms, APIs, enterprise systems, financial infrastructure and digital ecosystems. Safaricom offered one of the clearest local examples of that transition during its FY2026 presentation.

The briefing moved across healthcare integrations, digital public systems, payment infrastructure, enterprise services and platform connectivity alongside traditional telecom metrics. The overall presentation described a company positioning itself around operational infrastructure for a digital economy rather than mobile connectivity alone.

That evolution reflects a wider industry pattern. Telecom operators across multiple regions are attempting to move beyond network ownership into higher-value service layers tied to finance, enterprise technology and digital transactions. Companies such as MTN Group, Airtel Africa, Vodafone Group and Reliance Jio increasingly describe themselves through ecosystems and digital services as much as telecom infrastructure.

The shift is partly economic. Connectivity services have matured across many markets, while data demand continues to rise alongside infrastructure costs. Telecom operators are therefore looking for additional operational layers where digital activity can be monetised through payments, APIs, enterprise tools and platform integration.

Safaricom’s presentation reflected that broader repositioning. Mobile infrastructure remained central, but executives repeatedly discussed systems operating above the network itself. The company referenced public-service integrations, merchant ecosystems, digital finance rails, enterprise connectivity and platform-linked services across different sections of the briefing.

That language points toward a larger business-model transition underway across the telecom industry.

Historically, telecom operators controlled physical distribution infrastructure. They owned towers, spectrum, fibre networks and mobile access channels. Today, many are trying to extend their role deeper into how digital economies function operationally. Payments, identity verification, cloud-linked services and enterprise systems increasingly sit inside that strategy.

In Kenya, M-PESA accelerated that transition earlier than in many comparable markets. The platform expanded the company’s role from communications provider into financial infrastructure operator. Over time, additional systems formed around that ecosystem, including merchant services, APIs, enterprise tools and digital transaction layers.

The FY2026 presentation suggested Safaricom now views those layers as interconnected rather than separate business lines.

Artificial intelligence also appeared in the background of that transition, though not through headline product announcements. References tied to automation, operational efficiency, digital systems and service orchestration reflected how AI increasingly functions as infrastructure embedded inside platforms rather than as a standalone offering.

That operational framing matters because telecom companies are no longer competing only on network quality. They are increasingly competing on ecosystem depth, enterprise integration and digital utility.

The presentation also reflected how telecom operators are broadening their institutional identity. Safaricom repeatedly framed connectivity alongside access, participation and digital services. The language placed the company closer to infrastructure orchestration than conventional telecommunications branding.

That repositioning carries implications beyond Kenya. Across Africa, operators are increasingly expanding into fintech systems, enterprise software, cloud partnerships, digital identity layers, API infrastructure,
and public-service integration.

The convergence is reshaping how telecom companies define themselves internally and externally.

Peter Ndegwa and other executives consistently described long-term ecosystem growth during the FY2026 briefing, tying network infrastructure to broader digital service capacity. The presentation rarely treated connectivity as an isolated product category.

Instead, the network appeared as the foundational layer beneath a wider digital operating environment.

That distinction is becoming increasingly important across the telecom industry. Operators built the infrastructure that connected populations first. Many are now attempting to become the systems through which digital economies transact, integrate and operate day to day.

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