• CEO Peter Ndegwa says the telco has not undertaken any activity that has crippled or in any way affected the ability of its competitors.
• Notes that Safaricom’s share of the market has been decreasing year on year, which shows competition is gaining and growing. Telecommunication giant Safaricom PLC has fought off accusations it engages in unfair competition, telling rivals to invest in infrastructure and innovation.
Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said the telco has not undertaken any activity that has crippled or in any way affected the ability of its competitors.
“Some of our competitors have shied away from the responsibility of building and running their own infrastructure. They do not own any base stations, they do not invest in fibre connectivity, they do not invest in call centres,” Ndegwa said on Tuesday.
He added that Safaricom’s share of the market has been decreasing year on year, which shows competition is gaining and growing.
“What Safaricom has done is capable of being replicated by any company should they undertake the same level of investment and approach to customers,” he said when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation.
He was responding to queries on alleged monopolistic practices by Safaricom.
Ndegwa noted that in September 2000, the telco had 20,000 customers out of the total 130,000 at the time, translating to a market share of about 15 per cent.
“By 2010, Safaricom’s market share stood at 80.7 per cent but has over the last 10 years dropped to 63.6 per cent in December 2020 and now stands at 64.2 per cent as at 30th June 2021, according to the statistics published by the Communications Authority,” he said
He went on, “We did not start out at the top of the market but through great investment and innovation, we have attained our current position and with the support of Kenyans, we will continue to raise the flag of innovation and access to connectivity within and beyond Kenya”.
On October 29, rival Airtel Kenya told the committee that the information and communications technology market in the country does not enjoy fair competition.Airtel Kenya, which is ranked second in market share among operators in the country, said there has been no dispute as to the status of Safaricom as regards its dominant status and market power.“However, there has been reluctance in declaring Safaricom dominant in the retail mobile market and the retail mobile money market. Declaring Safaricom dominant […]
