Kenyan telco Safaricom has announced it will spend more than $500 million in AI infrastructure across East Africa, over the next three years to enhance connectivity and; build a robust and scalable AI ecosystem.
Speaking at the Connected Africa Summit, Safaricom’s chief enterprise business officer, Cynthia Kropac, said that the investment will “trascend traditional connectivity” by “powering advanced digital services, fuelling innovation across all sectors of the economy besides propelling the region’s productivity.”
“Africa has an opportunity to define its own AI destiny,” Kropac said. “While global AI development has largely been concentrated in the West and parts of Asia, Africa must now move beyond being a passive consumer of AI technologies.
“At Safaricom, we have already trained 5,000 employees in AI fundamentals to build an intelligent economy. We believe that time is rife for the Region to build its own AI frameworks; to shift from being passive consumers to active creators and stewards of the continent’s digital future.”
Kropac also reiterated the company’s focus on delivering seamless, intelligent, and inclusive digital experiences for people across Africa,
“At Safaricom, we remain firmly committed to driving Africa’s digital future – through bold investments in connectivity, strategic partnerships, and the transformative power of artificial intelligence. By fostering innovation and enabling access to digital solutions, the company continues to play a central role in unlocking socio-economic growth and empowering communities across the continent.”
The Connected Africa Summit 2025 seeks to achieve the continent’s pursuit of a digitally inclusive, innovative, and interconnected future.
About Safaricom
Safaricom is the leading telecommunication company in East Africa. Our purpose is to transform lives by connecting people to people, people to opportunities and people to information. We keep over 49 million customers connected and play a critical role in society, supporting over 1.1 million jobs both directly and indirectly while our total economic value was estimated at KES 562 billion ($ 4.3 billion) for the 12 months through March 2024.
Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and with annual revenues of close to KES388 billion as at March 2025, Safaricom provides connectivity through wide range of technology, 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G in aggregate covering over 99% of Kenya’s population.
We run the world’s largest mobile payment system and Africa’s largest Fintech, M-PESA, the world’s first mobile money transfer system. By empowering over 34 million customers to transact, save or borrow money through their mobile phone, M-PESA has driven financial inclusion in Kenya to 83.7% in 2021 of the adult population from a low of 26.7% in 2006 and generated over KES161 billion in revenue as at FY25.
Our subsidiary, Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia, has deployed world class network and services to contribute to Ethiopia’s digital transformation.
Safaricom is an equal opportunity employer, actively recruiting staff from different backgrounds reflecting the communities that we serve. We are committed to equal gender representation at all levels. Our target is to achieve 50:50 senior management gender parity by 2025.
As part of our ongoing commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we continue to work towards improving energy and resource efficiency in our network and facilities to reduce carbon emissions and our fuel consumption. We remain committed to becoming a net zero carbon-emitting company by 2050.
