In a vibrant blend of enterprise and entertainment, Safaricom PLC has launched the Greater Western edition of its M-PESA Sokoni Festival, a dynamic regional activation celebrating 18 years of M-PESA’s transformative impact on Kenya’s financial landscape and its communities.
The campaign, grounded in Safaricom’s purpose-led Vision 2030 strategy, marks both a historic legacy and a forward-looking blueprint for Kenya’s digital future.
“Since its inception, M-PESA has transformed how millions of Kenyans access, move, grow and protect their money,” said Dr. Peter Ndegwa, CEO of Safaricom PLC. “Through the Sokoni Festival, we are engaging directly with our customers. This is how we honour our customers—by walking beside them, listening, and offering real tools and solutions that make business and life easier.”
Festival Meets Strategy: A Vision 2030 Milestone
Running across Kisumu, Siaya, Bungoma, and Kakamega counties, the Greater Western Sokoni activation is more than a festival; it’s a boots-on-the-ground execution of Safaricom’s strategy to become Africa’s leading purpose-led technology company by 2030.
According to the company’s 2025 Annual Report, Safaricom plans to:
“Refine its understanding of customers using segmentation models and cutting-edge tools including AI… While maximising the use of social media platforms, and the benefits of our pioneering platforms.”
This vision is being lived through:
- Customer forums like Safaricom Hook Circle train youth in the areas of technology, career, and culture.
- Wezesha Mama, a new nationwide programme designed to empower registered women’s groups with the skills, resources, and opportunities they need to grow their businesses and improve their livelihoods.
- Digital inclusion workshops for SMEs and boda riders
Each activation aligns with one of Safaricom’s six strategic “Big Bets” for Vision 2030: Consumer, FS/M-PESA, Fixed Broadband, Enterprise, Public Sector, and Ethiopia.
Driving Enterprise Growth & Public Sector Digitisation
The festival also reflects a deeper market transformation. In FY25 alone:
- 1.9M active M-PESA merchants and 299k agents now power everyday trade
- The Ziidi MMF platform saw 419.9% AUM growth, while Fuliza Biashara reached 7.9M users
- Home broadband passed 694,000 homes, with Safaricom launching Kenya’s first-ever 1000 Mbps fibre tier
Lavender Atieno, a hen during the official M-PESA SOKONI Greater Western Edition at Migori County.
Safaricom’s Grow with Safaricom Business initiative has supported 5,000+ SMEs, while its Eastleigh business shop and government partnerships have catalysed enterprise growth and cash disbursement, including KShs 4.3Bn to 1.7M beneficiaries through Inua Jamii.
“One of the objectives of our Vision 2030 strategy is to become the digitisation and financial services partner of choice for enterprises and the public sector,” said Dr. Ndegwa.
Customer-Centric by Design
Central to Safaricom’s impact is its philosophy of “Customer Obsession,” which drives:
- AI-led segmentation for personalised bundles and offers
- Issue resolution at scale for pain points
- Seamless, superior experiences are positioned as key differentiators
“Customer Obsession plays a strategic role in business planning within our agile environment,” the annual report notes. “In the short term, we resolve customer pain; in the long term, we deliver seamless experiences.”
The Sokoni Festival exemplifies this ethos with real-time engagement, community feedback loops, and live demos of M-PESA’s super app—now integrated with payments, savings, insurance, and merchant solutions.
A Path Forward in Kenya and Ethiopia
While Kenya continues to deliver robust performance—including KShs 161.1Bn in M-PESA revenue (+15.2% YoY)—Safaricom is equally focused on growth in Ethiopia.
The 2025 Annual Report reveals that:
“We will develop more use cases for M-PESA in Ethiopia, where we are emphatically on a path to profitability and a sustainable funding model.”
The Ethiopia unit grew its customer base by 103%, added 2.4M active M-PESA users, and processed KShs 20.6Bn in transactions in FY25.
Celebrating the Journey, Fueling the Future
From M-PESA’s origins in 2007 to its influence across 35M customers, 4,500 transactions per second, and 8% of GDP, Safaricom continues to evolve its platforms and partnerships. The Sokoni Festival is not just a commemoration; it’s a projection of what digital inclusion and enterprise can achieve.
“M-PESA Sokoni is more than just a marketplace,” said Dr. Ndegwa. “It’s a movement—a celebration of what’s possible when technology meets community.”
With deals, data, development, and music converging at Mambo Leo Stadium, Safaricom is turning customer moments into market momentum, community gatherings into innovation platforms, and celebrations into strategic statements.
