KENYA

M-Pesa deepens share in Safaricom revenue as voice stutters

The share of M-Pesa in Safaricom mobile service revenue has deepened to 41.5 percent as earnings from voice and text messaging came under pressure from applications such as WhatsApp. Safaricom’s mobile service revenue in the financial year ended March 2023 grew by 4.6 percent to Sh282.23 billion, with M-Pesa accounting for Sh117.19 billion or 41.5 percent compared with 39.9 percent in the previous year.

The latest share of M-Pesa in mobile service revenue is the highest in the history of the telco and has come on the back of the share of voice and SMS revenue declining due to customers’ growing preference for internet calls and messaging apps such as WhatsApp.

Voice and messaging – which were for years the mainstay of the company –five years ago commanded 47.2 percent of mobile service revenue while that of M-Pesa was at 31.2 percent. This was when voice revenue hit the peak of Sh95.94 billion.

(Source: Business Daily)

TANZANIA

Tanzania’s mid-sized banks’ first quarter profits jump

Tanzania mid-sized banks have reported stellar performance in the first quarter of the year 2023, with profits rising by more than 126 percent. Analysed banks – which have asset values below TSh1 trillion but above the TSh100 billion in value – indicated a sharp increase in profits compared to the numbers recorded during the same period in 2022. The surge in profits is attributed to several factors, including implementing cost-cutting measures, higher lending activity and improved asset quality.

(Source: The Citizen)

UGANDA

TSh51.9 trillion: Uganda’s 2023-2024 budget revised

The government’s amendment to the proposed budget for the financial year 2023/2024, indicates an increase in the resource envelope from TSh50.9 trillion to TSh51.9 trillion Shillings. Henry Musasizi, the Minister of State for Finance- General Duties tabled the document on Wednesday during the plenary sitting.

The document indicates an increase in the recurrent budget from TSh15.7 trillion to TSh15.73 trillion, the development budget increased to TSh6.52 trillion from TSh6.51 trillion, the statutory budget from TSh21.2 trillion to TSh21.5 trillion, and external financing moves to TSh8.1 trillion from TSh7.4 trillion.

(Source: The Independent)

RWANDA

Premature for Rwanda to stop dollar dependency on imports—Central bank

Rwanda’s reliance on the US dollar for imports and exports should not be abandoned prematurely, according to Soraya Hakuziyaremye, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda. This perspective emerges as major economies, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, collectively known as BRICS, strive to reduce their dependence on the US dollar through a process called de-dollarisation.As the dominant global reserve currency, the US dollar remains crucial in international trade, investment, and financial transactions.

(Source: The New Times)

ETHIOPIA

Safaricom M-Pesa becomes the first foreign company to secure a mobile money service license in Ethiopia

The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) issued a mobile money service license to Safaricom M-Pesa Mobile Financial Service PLC, a subsidiary of Safaricom Telecommunication Ethiopia PLC, making the company the first foreign investor to be granted the license in Ethiopia.

Anwar Soussa, CEO of Safaricom Ethiopia, stated: “We are delighted to receive the license to establish M-Pesa and start providing Mobile Financial Services to our customers. M-Pesa comes with a tested and proven track record of enabling financial inclusion in Africa, provides services to more than 51 million customers across seven countries in Africa with a safe, secure and affordable ways to send and receive money, top-up airtime, make bill payments, get short-term loans and much more. We would like to extend our gratitude to the Government of Ethiopia, Ministry of Finance, and the National Bank of Ethiopia for the support and guidance which will allow us to contribute our share to the efforts of the Government of Ethiopia fast tracking Digital Inclusion and promote innovation outlined in the Digital payments Strategy 2025.”

(Source: 2merkato.com)

SUDAN

Sudan online banking services collapse, Khartoum suffers from scarcity of water

Battles between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continued on Monday, despite a declared armistice. The conflict caused the water supply to be completely cut in many parts of Khartoum. The collapse of online banking services in the country has made it even more difficult for people to purchase their daily necessities.

Aerial bombardments and shooting were reported in various areas, including Shambat in Khartoum North (Bahri) on Monday. According to a Radio Dabanga listener, violent clashes took place as well in El Mohandesin and Ombadda in Omdurman. In Shambat, bombing by warplanes resulted in the death of a South Sudanese woman and her children.

In East Nile in Khartoum North, locals reported limited movement due to the RSF’s control of the area, leading to a significant increase in transportation tariffs and commodity prices.

(Source: Dabanga)

SOMALIA

A delegation from the Government of Somalia attended the Conference in Jeddah

The annual conference of the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB-2023) opened Wednesday night in the city of Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Minister of Finance of the Federal Government of Somalia, Elmi Mohamud Nur and a delegation led by him participated in the opening of the meeting of the Islamic Development Bank.

Minister Elmi Mohamud, who wrote on his personal website, said that he had private and public meetings with various leaders who attended the conference. The minister pointed out that he discussed the development of Somalia’s financial reform process with the officials he accompanied, noting that the meetings held in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were important.