{
  "id": 18366106,
  "title": "Safaricom flags cost of living and competition as key business challenges",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/safaricom-flags-cost-of-living-and-competition-as-key-business",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-05T20:03:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "People Daily Kenya",
    "slug": "people-daily-kenya",
    "url": "https://peopledaily.digital/business/safaricom-flags-cost-of-living-and-competition-as-key-business-challenges"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Safaricom, Kenya's leading telecommunications firm, has reported strong financial growth for the six months to September 2026, despite facing challenges such as the rising cost of living, intensifying competition, and regulatory changes. Board Chairman Adil Khawaja highlighted these pressures during the announcement of the company's 2026/27 half-year financial results, noting that households and businesses are grappling with high living costs while rapid technological changes reshape the market. Despite these challenges, Safaricom recorded a 13.1% increase in group service revenue to Ksh226.1 billion and a 35.9% increase in group net income to Ksh58.2 billion. The company's M-Pesa revenue also crossed Ksh100 billion for the first time in a half-year, rising 13.6% to Ksh100.1 billion. Safaricom's performance in Ethiopia was particularly notable, with a 71.6% increase in service revenue to Ksh10.6 billion and a significant reduction in EBITDA loss by 96.5% to Ksh434.4 million. The company's CEO, Peter Ndegwa, emphasized the company's focus on delivering its Vision 2030 ambition of becoming Africa's leading purpose-led technology company while maintaining financial discipline and innovation.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}