Is the government of Kenya the largest shareholder at Safaricom? Who are the top ten largest Safaricom shareholders? How many shares do they own? Well, according to the annual report and financial statements of Safaricom for the year ended March 31, 2025, the top ten Safaricom shareholders were:
1). Vodafone Kenya Limited with 16 billion shares. Vodafone’s stake is equivalent to 39.93 percent.
2). Cabinet Secretary to the National Treasury [Government of Kenya] with 14,022,572,580 shares. This stake is equivalent to 35 percent shareholding.
3). Standard Chartered Kenya Nominees Ltd A/C Ke004667 with 380,658,806 shares representing a 0.95 percent stake.
4). Kenya Commercial Bank Nominees Limited A/C 1019D with 365,227,900 representing 0.91 percent.
5). Kenya Commercial Bank Nominees Limited A/C 915B with 345,582,886 shares equivalent to a stake of 0.86 percent.
6). Stanbic Nominees Limited NR7522171 with 245,586,200 shares equivalent to a stake of 0.61 percent.
7). Stanbic Nominees Ltd A/C NR1030824 with 224,513,900 shares equivalent to 0.56 percent stake.
8). Standard Chartered Nominees Resd A/C KE11401 with 163,458,207 shares representing a stake of 0.50 percent.
9). Stanbic Nominees Limited R6631578 with 188,160,853 shares equivalent to a stake of 0.47 percent.
10). Standard Chartered Nominees Resd A/C KE11443 which has 163, 458,207 shares which are equivalent to a stake of 0.41 percent.
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The rest of shareholders at Safaricom hold a combined stake of 19.79 percent which comprises of 7,927,725,909 shares. In total, Safaricom has a total of 40,065,428,000 shares.
Safaricom shares were first sold to the public through an Initial Public Offer (IPO) which lasted for a period of three weeks from March 28, 2008. The shares went on sale at a rate of Sh5 per share. Foreign and local investors placed bids worth a combined Sh. 231 billion, which was a 360 per cent oversubscription.
The IPO came close to doubling the number of investors at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) from 800,000 to 1.5 million. The local retail pool saw an oversubscription of 669.7 percent. On June 9 2008, the Safaricom shares began to trade at the NSE, debuting at the bourse at Sh5 apiece.
The current composition of the top ten largest Safaricom shareholders is expected to change following the government’s decision to sell 15 percent of its shares to South Africa’s Vodacom Group.
In the sale, the government is expected to pocket Sh204.3 billion after handing over 15 percent of its stake to Vodacom Group at a rate of Sh34 per share.
In addition to the Sh204.3 billion that the government is expected to earn, the government will also take Sh40.2 billion in advance dividend to bring its total earnings to Sh244.5 billion.
