COMESA clears Vodacom’s Safaricom takeover in Kenya

7 March 2026

In today's Techpoint Digest, we discuss COMESA clearing Vodacom’s Safaricom takeover, why angel investors aren’t backing down, and Ethiopia banning Birr in crypto P2P trading.

COMESA clears Vodacom’s Safaricom takeover in Kenya

Zdravo,

Victoria from Techpoint here,

Here’s what I’ve got for you today:

COMESA clears Vodacom’s Safaricom takeover

Why angel investors aren’t backing down

Ethiopia bans Birr in crypto P2P trading

COMESA clears Vodacom’s Safaricom takeover

Safaricom

When a regional watchdog gives a big telecom deal the green light, it’s usually a sign that something major is on the move, and that’s exactly what just happened with Vodacom Group and Safaricom. The COMESA Competition and Consumer Commission has cleared Vodacom’s plan to increase its holdings in Kenya’s biggest telecom from 35% to 55% in a deal worth about Sh272 billion. That’s a major regulatory hurdle crossed in a transaction that’s been watched closely across East and Southern Africa.

Under the deal, Vodacom will buy extra shares from the Government of Kenya and from its parent, Vodafone Group, giving it effective control of Safaricom. COMESA said the move won’t hurt competition in the Common Market, a 21-member regional bloc, and won’t go against public interest. That’s a key endorsement for the deal as it navigates tougher regional scrutiny.

So why care? Safaricom isn’t just another telco. It dominates mobile services, data, and mobile money in Kenya and is a cash cow in the region. Its mobile money arm, M-PESA, is one of Africa’s most successful digital finance platforms, and deeper alignment with Vodacom could shape how telecoms and fintech evolve across neighbouring markets too.

The approval also marks a shift in how big mergers are reviewed regionally. Instead of local regulators alone handling it, the East African Community Competition Authority and COMESA are playing bigger roles, making this one of the first major tests of newly strengthened regional frameworks.

Vodacom to take control of Safaricom in $1.6B mega deal

The spotlight now turns to other sign-offs the deal still needs, including final nods from national regulators and shareholder approvals. If all goes well, Vodacom’s...