Company type | Public Private Partnership |
---|---|
Industry | Telecommunications |
Founded | April 5, 1999 |
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Eddy Njoroge Chairman [1] Mugo Kibati Chief Executive Officer [2] |
Products | Telecommunications services Internet services |
Revenue | KSh.40 billion/= (2010) |
Website | Official website |
Telkom Kenya is an integrated telecommunications provider in Kenya. It was previously a part of the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC) which was the sole provider of both postal and telecommunication services. The company was established as a telecommunications operator in April 1999, after the split of KPTC into the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), the Postal Corporation of Kenya (POSTA) and Telkom Kenya. As of 2023, the company is fully owned the Government of Kenya. [3]
The company operates and maintains the infrastructure over which Kenya's various internet service providers operate. As of 2004, most internet service was provided via dial-up service. Jambonet, an important Kenyan ISP, is a subsidiary of Telkom Kenya. It also offers mobile GSM voice and high speed internet services under the Telkom brand, in which it is the 3rd in market share after Safaricom and Airtel Kenya. [4] In 2018, it was announced [5] that Airtel Kenya was considering a merger with Telkom Kenya. In March 2018, the company resumed a mobile-money service that it had dropped in 2017. Referred to as T-kash, the service is a direct competitor to the M-pesa service, offered by market-leader Safaricom. [6]
In 2007 France Télécom (now Orange S.A.) acquired 51% of Telkom Kenya's shares at a cost of US$390 million. [7] In November 2012, the shareholding structure changed due to a decision by the Kenyan government to convert its shareholder loans at that time, into equity in order to ease Telkom Kenya's debt burden. [8] It was subsequently confirmed that the Kenya government would retain 40% shareholding down from 49% with the remaining shares held by France Télécom. [9] In January 2013, France Télécom increased its stake in Telkom Kenya to 70% as a consequence of the government's failure to provide its full portion of the 2012 funding. [10] In June 2017, the firm was re-branded from "Orange Kenya" to "Telkom Kenya". [11]
On November 9, 2015, Helios Investment Partners announced that they were going to purchase France Télécom's entire stake in Telkom Kenya. [12] [13]
Subsequent to the agreement to buy, Helios negotiated with the Kenyan government to own 40 percent in the new joint venture, with the investment firm retaining 60 percent. [14] In June 2016, final regulatory approval was received for the deal to proceed. [15] In October 2022, the Kenyan government acquired the remaining 60% of Telkom Kenya from Helios in a $50.4 million USD deal. At that time, the Kenyan government owned 100 percent of Telkom Kenya. [16]
In October 2023, Infrastructure Corporation of Africa LLC (ICA), based in the United Arab Emirates was selected to acquire the 60 percent shareholding, previously owned by Helios Investment Partners. Subject to all the approvals and documentation, the shareholding will look as depicted in the table below. [17]
Rank | Name of Owner | Domicile | Percentage Ownership |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Infrastructure Corporation of Africa LLC | United Arab Emirates | 60.0 |
2 | Government of Kenya | Kenya | 40.0 |
Total | 100.0 | ||
Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC) was a government company that provided telecommunication and postal services across Kenya. In 1999, the KPTC was separated into three separate entities - Telkom Kenya, Kenya Postal Corporation and the Communication Commission of Kenya,(CCK) the licensing and regulatory authority of the government.
Safaricom PLC is a listed Kenyan mobile network operator headquartered at Safaricom House in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the largest telecommunications provider in Kenya, and one of the most profitable companies in the East and Central Africa region. The company offers mobile telephony, mobile money transfer, consumer electronics, ecommerce, cloud computing, data, music streaming, and fibre optic services. It is most renowned as the home of M-PESA, a mobile banking SMS-based service.
Airtel Tanzania Limited is the third-largest mobile network operator in Tanzania operated by Airtel Africa, which is a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel of India, behind Vodacom Tanzania and Tigo Tanzania. As of September 2017, Airtel Tanzania had 10.6 million voice subscribers. As of December 2017 according to data provided by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority, Airtel Tanzania controlled 27.1 percent of Tanzania's mobile telephone market by customer numbers, at that time estimated at 10.86 million.
Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation, formerly Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL), is the oldest and largest fixed line telecommunications company in Tanzania. The company comes forth from the former Tanzania Posts and Telecommunications Corporation in 1993. TTCL was wholly owned by the Government of Tanzania until the partial privatisation of the company on 23 February 2001.
Uganda Telecommunications Corporation Limited (UTCL), also (UTel), is an information and communication technology network company in Uganda owned by the government of Uganda. UTel acquired the assets and some of the liabilities of the defunct Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL) which was also owned by the Ugandan government. UTL was previously in receivership which it entered after the Libyan company that owned about 69 percent shares abandoned the investment in 2017.
National Bank of Kenya (NBK), also known as National Bank, is a commercial bank in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the central bank, and national banking regulator. Effective September 2019, the bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kenya Commercial Bank Group.
Centum Investment Company Plc, commonly known as Centum is a public East African investment company. It operates as an affiliate of the Kenyan government-owned Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC).
MTN Uganda is the largest telecom company in Uganda, with 11.2 million subscribers, accounting for 55 percent market share, as of 30 June 2017. By 31 December 2019, its customer base had increased to 12.6 million customers. In March 2021, the Uganda Communications Commission estimated the number of MTN customers in Uganda at 15 million, out of 28.3 million mobile network subscribers, thereby attaining a 53 percent market share. In May 2024, MTNU registered her 20 millionth customer in the country.
Airtel Africa plc is an Indian multinational company that provides telecommunications and mobile money services in 14 countries in Africa, primarily in East, Central and West Africa. Airtel Africa is majority owned by the Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel. Airtel Africa offers mobile voice and data services as well as mobile money services both nationally and internationally. Airtel Nigeria is the most profitable unit of Airtel Africa, due to its cheap data plans in Nigeria. As of March 2019, Airtel had over 99 million subscribers in the continent. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
The Multimedia University of Kenya (MMU) is a public university located in Nairobi. The university offers IT & related courses, Mass media, Business, Engineering, Physical Sciences and Social sciences education.
Britam Holding PLC is a leading diversified financial services group and is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The group has presence in seven Africa countries in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Mozambique and Malawi.
Finserve Africa Limited is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in Kenya. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Equity Group Holdings and is using the Airtel Kenya network as its carrier.
Equity Group Holdings Limited (EGHL), formerly Equity Bank Group, is a financial services holding company based in the African Great Lakes region. EGHL's headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and a representative office in Ethiopia.
Equity Banque Commerciale du Congo (EquityBCDC) is a commercial bank in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a merger between Equity Bank Congo (EBC), formerly ProCredit Bank DRCongo, and Banque Commerciale du Congo. This followed the acquisition of majority shareholding in both banks by the Equity Group Holdings Limited, a Kenya-based financial services conglomerate with total assets in excess of US$10 billion.
Helios Investment Partners is a private equity investing firm operating in Africa and based in London, United Kingdom, with additional offices in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria.
Airtel Uganda Limited is a mobile communications and information technology services provider in Uganda. The company also offers mobile funds transfer and banking services known as Airtel Payments Bank. Airtel Uganda Limited is a subsidiary of Airtel Africa PLC.
Esther Koimett, is a Kenyan public-servant experienced in investment promotion, banking, privatisation, public enterprise and public policy. She is presently the Principal Secretary State Department Of Broadcasting And Telecommunication, Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs following her appointment by former president Uhuru Kenyatta in January 2020 . Prior to her appointment in the ICT docket, Esther served as the Principal Secretary, State Department for Transport, Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure,Housing, Urban Development & Public Works since her appointment in August, 2018.
Airtel Kenya Ltd., a subsidiary of Airtel Africa, is the second largest telecommunications services provider in Kenya after Safaricom PLC. It has an estimated 16.2 million subscribers of the total 59.8 million subscribers in the Kenyan market equivalent to 27.2% market share. Airtel market share has been rising steadily over the last few years.
Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia P.L.C. (STE), previously known as Global Partnership for Ethiopia BV (GPE), is a subsidiary of the Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom in Ethiopia, licensed with fee of US$850 million on 9 July 2021. This fee made it the single largest foreign direct investment into Ethiopia. The firm roll out telephony services from 2022.