Have you ever finished reading a news article and still felt confused? The words were big, the sentences were heavy, and the meaning got lost in the jargon.
Well, here is a business story that is actually easy to understand.
Safaricom, Kenya’s largest telecom company, recently went to the market to raise money. The company needed funds, so it announced a plan to borrow through a Medium-Term Note (MTN).
Safaricom asked investors for 15 billion Kenyan shillings, which is about $116M.
What happened next surprised many people.
Instead of raising just what they asked for, investors offered 41.4 billion Kenyan shillings. That is roughly $319M today.
This kind of response is rare. Investing always comes with risk, so most investors are careful. They do not rush in or put in more money than needed. But with Safaricom, caution took a back seat. Why?
The simple answer is low risk.
Investors were confident that Safaricom would pay them back, plus interest. That confidence did not come from guesswork. It came from how the company makes money.
Safaricom earns revenue from airtime and data, like every other telecom company. But those income streams can drop due to competition, regulation, or changes in customer behavior.
Safaricom has something more solid.
The company also makes money from M-Pesa, its mobile money service. In Kenya, M-Pesa is used by almost everyone.
Even if people somehow stopped buying airtime or data, M-Pesa would still keep money flowing into the business. That steady income made investors feel safe.
If you are wondering what M-Pesa is, it is simple. The M stands for mobile, and Pesa is a Swahili word for money. Put together, it means mobile money.
M-Pesa did not come from Silicon Valley or a big Chinese tech firm. It came from Africa, specifically Kenya, and it launched in 2007.
With M-Pesa, you do not need a bank account to send or receive money. All you need is a SIM card. You deposit cash through authorized agents and use that balance to pay for goods, send money, or withdraw cash anytime.
You can pay for food at the market, send money to family, or pay a tailor who keeps delaying your clothes.
Unlike situations where you mistakenly buy too much airtime and cannot reverse it, M-Pesa uses real money. What you deposit is what you spend or withdraw.
Sadly, M-Pesa is still not available in Nigeria.
Why This Matters
M-Pesa gives Safaricom a steady and reliable source of profit. That stability is what convinced investors to commit more money than expected.
This is a lesson Nigerian telecom companies should pay attention to. Adding useful services beyond calls and data could increase customer trust, grow revenue, and create financial stability.
When that stability exists, raising money becomes easier. Investors show up with confidence, ready to invest fully, knowing their money is safe.
