2023-07-29 09:49:00
(Agence Ecofin) – Safaricom is seeking to evolve from its current status as a telecom company to that of a technology company by 2025. The company has been managing an investment fund in technology start-ups since 2014. It also wants to create its own smartphone manufacturing plant.
The telecommunications company Safaricom can now launch its 2 new venture capital subsidiaries to invest in Kenyan technology start-ups. The project was approved by its shareholders during the 15th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on July 28 in Nairobi.
« We are committed to strengthening the tech ecosystem in Kenya and beyond, and this strategic move will allow us to broaden our investments, encompassing early-stage and growth-stage start-ups.said Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa.
It was at the beginning of July that Safaricom announced its intention to set up new venture capital companies. The initiative is also part of its ambition to completely transform itself into a “goal-oriented tech companyby 2025. The company is also looking to fuel its growth over the next few years, in a context of accelerated digital transformation marked by the growing emergence of start-ups in Africa.
The two new companies will join Spark Venture Fund, an investment fund created by Safaricom in 2014. Between 2015 and 2017, the fund invested USD 1 million in 6 Kenyan mobile technology start-ups: Sendy, Lynk, Ajua , Eneza, iProcure and Farmdrive. In 2020, Safaricom allocated an additional $5 million to the fund to invest up to $500,000 in tech startups that are strategically aligned with the company’s goals.
Mr. Ndegwa believes that the two new entities “will help unlock new business models and value chain opportunities“. They should also accelerate Safaricom’s entry into new customer segments in consumer, financial services, business, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)…
Isaac K. Kassouwi
Read also:
06/07/2023 — Safaricom plans to set up two venture capital subsidiaries to invest in tech start-ups in Kenya
05/27/2023 — Kenya: Safaricom wants to launch its own low-cost smartphone manufacturing plant
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