Who owns Safaricom Ethiopia?
Safaricom Ethiopia is owned by Vodafone (the United Kingdom, NASDAQ: VOD) through its subsidiary Safaricom.[1]
Safaricom owns 54.17% of Safaricom Ethiopia rather than all of it.
Vodafone owns 65.1% of Vodacom rather than all of it.
Vodacom owns 55% of Safaricom rather than all of it.
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Safaricom PLC — Annual Report with Sustainability Disclosures for the year ended 31 March 2026, 10 July 2026. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Vodafone Group Plc via Vodacom › Safaricom (54.17% stake) reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, Newbury
- Origin
- 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
- Founded
- 2021
- Category
- Telecom › Mobile › Mobile carriers
- Parent ticker
- NASDAQ: VOD
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Safaricom Ethiopia
Safaricom Ethiopia is the mobile network run by Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC, which holds one of the two telecommunications licences Ethiopia awarded in May 2021. The licence went to a consortium of Safaricom, Vodacom, Sumitomo and British International Investment, which paid USD 850 million for it. The operating company received its certificate of operation on 6 July 2021. Safaricom's indirect share rose from 51.67% to 54.17% in FY26 because it made capital contributions the other shareholders did not match, and those shareholders can buy back to their original proportions.
Ownership timeline of Safaricom Ethiopia
- Current owner Vodafone via Vodacom › Safaricom (54.17%) [1] reported Held through Vodafamily Ethiopia Holding Limited, in which Safaricom has 90%, and Global Partnership for Ethiopia B.V., which wholly owns Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC. Sumitomo, British International Investment and the IFC hold the rest of GPE. Safaricom's interest was 54.17% at 31 March 2026.
Where Safaricom Ethiopia sits in Vodafone
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
- Vodacom (65.1%) · 9 brands
- Safaricom (55%) · 3 brands
- M-PESA (50%)
- Safaricom
- Safaricom Ethiopia (54.17%)
- Safaricom (55%) · 3 brands
Open the full Vodafone ownership tree →
See the full Vodafone brand portfolio (23) →
Other brands owned by Vodafone
Vodafone controls 23 brands on Brandtree, 22 of them in telecom.
Also in telecom
- Safaricom (2000)
- SMARTY
- Talkmobile
- Three UK
- Vodacom DRC (2002)
- Vodacom Lesotho (1996)
- Vodacom Mozambique (2003)
- Vodacom South Africa
- Vodacom Tanzania (2000)
- Vodafone Albania (2001)
- Vodafone Czech Republic
- Vodafone Egypt
- Vodafone Germany
- Vodafone Greece
- Vodafone Ireland
- Vodafone Portugal
- Vodafone Romania
- Vodafone Türkiye
Other brands in mobile carriers, and who owns them
The 25 brands in mobile carriers on Brandtree belong to 15 owners. The largest is Maroc Telecom, with 5; Vodafone has 3.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Gabon Telecom | Maroc Telecom | 🇲🇦 Morocco |
| DIGI Portugal | Digi | 🇷🇴 Romania |
| C&W | Liberty Latin America | 🇧🇲 Bermuda |
| Tigo | Millicom | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg |
| by.U | Telkom Indonesia | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
| One NZ | Infratil | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
| NTT DOCOMO | NTT | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Smart | PLDT | 🇵🇭 Philippines |
About the owner: Vodafone
Vodafone is a publicly listed company headquartered in Newbury, United Kingdom. Brandtree records 23 brands under its control, and it is listed as NASDAQ: VOD.
Vodafone Group Plc files an annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 March 2026. The report describes operations in Europe and Africa, a 51% holding in the UK joint venture VodafoneThree, a 65.1% holding in Vodacom Group, associates including Safaricom, and a 50% interest in VodafoneZiggo that it announced in February 2026 it would sell.
🇪🇹 Safaricom Ethiopia and other Ethiopian brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 9 brands that began in Ethiopia. 2 of them (22%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Safaricom Ethiopia among them.
- Cerifam — Faffa Food 🇪🇹
- Ethiopian Airlines — Ethiopian Airlines 🇪🇹
- Kadisco — Asian Paints 🇮🇳
- Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services — Ethiopian Airlines 🇪🇹
- Ethiopian Holidays — Ethiopian Airlines 🇪🇹
- Ethiopian Skylight Hotel — Ethiopian Airlines 🇪🇹
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Safaricom Ethiopia?
The parent company of Safaricom Ethiopia is Vodafone, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United Kingdom. Safaricom Ethiopia sits under Vodafone's subsidiary Safaricom.
Is Safaricom Ethiopia Ethiopian or British?
Safaricom Ethiopia originated in Ethiopia in 2021, but it is owned today by Vodafone, which is headquartered in the United Kingdom. So Safaricom Ethiopia is an Ethiopian-origin brand under British ownership.
Is Safaricom Ethiopia still owned by Vodafone?
Yes. As of 25 October 2026, Safaricom Ethiopia is still owned by Vodafone, through Safaricom, which holds 54.17%. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Safaricom PLC — Annual Report with Sustainability Disclosures for the year ended 31 March 2026 — Safaricom PLC, Annual report, published 10 July 2026; retrieved 25 October 2026.
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