Dar es Salaam. Mobile Money Subscriptions in Tanzania has hit 44.35 million subscribers by the end of March 2023 the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) revealed in a latest report.
This is indicative of a growth in financial inclusion, as more people are using mobile money services to send, receive, and store money.
The numbers by TCRA show that the amount of subscribers recorded during the three quarters of the 2022/2023 fiscal year from July 2022 to March 2023, is higher than the total subscribers recorded in both 2020, 2021, and 2022.
According to the new statistics in 2020, there were 32.26 million subscribers, which went up to a record 35.28 million subscribers in 2021 and then 40.95 million subscribers in 2022.
“Number of subscriptions have also been increasing at the average rate of 13 percent per year,” TCRA said in part.
Vodacom continues to hold the largest share of the mobile money market share at 36 percent of mobile money accounts in the market, followed by Tigo with 31 percent, Airtel with 21 percent, Halotel with 9 percent, and TTCL with a market share holds a market share of 3 percent.
In terms of transactions, the data shows that the number of transactions has been increasing for the past three years from 3.4 billion in 2020 to 4.2 billion in 2022.
Though the current value of transactions has yet to be revealed by TCRA, previous data has shown that by December 2022 the annual value of mobile money transactions stood at Sh13.89 trillion.
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Britam half-year net profit hits Sh2bn on higher investment income
Insurer and financial services provider Britam posted a 22.5 percent jump in net earnings for the half-year ended June 2024, to Sh2 billion, buoyed by increased investment income.
The rise in half-year net profit from Sh1.64 billion posted in a similar period last year came on the back of net investment income rising 2.5 times to Sh13.27 billion from Sh5.3 billion.
“We are confident in the growth and performance trend that Britam has achieved, supported by its subsidiaries in Kenya and the region. Our business is expanding its revenue base while effectively managing costs,” Britam Chief Executive Officer Tom Gitogo said.
“Our customer-centric approach is fueling growth in our customer base and product uptake, particularly through micro-insurance, partnerships, and digital channels.”
The investment income growth was fueled by interest and dividend income rising 34 percent to Sh9.1 billion, which the insurer attributed to growth in revenue and the gains from the realignment of the group’s investment portfolio.
Britam also booked a Sh3.79 billion gain on financial assets at a fair value, compared with a Sh1.8 billion loss posted in a similar period last year.
The increased investment income helped offset the 12.7 percent decline in net insurance service result to Sh2.13 billion in the wake of claims paid out rising at a faster pace than that of premiums received.
Britam said insurance revenue, which is money from written premiums, increased to Sh17.8 billion from Sh16.6 billion, primarily driven by growth in the Kenya insurance business and regional general insurance businesses, which contributed 30 percent of the revenue.
The group has a presence in seven countries in Africa namely Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Mozambique, and Malawi.
Britam’s insurance service expense hit Sh13.6 billion from Sh11.3 billion, while net insurance finance expenses rose 2.6 times to Sh12.3 billion during the same period.
“Net insurance finance expenses increased mainly due to growth in interest cost for the deposit administration business driven by better investment performance. This has also been impacted by a decline in the yield curve, which has led to an increase in the insurance contract liabilities. The increase has been offset by a matching increase in fair value gain on assets,” said Britam.
Britam’s growth in profit is in line with that of other Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed insurers, which have seen a rise in profits.
Jubilee Holdings net profit in the six months increased by 22.7 percent to Sh2.5 billion on increased income from insurance, helping the insurer maintain Sh2 per share interim dividend.
CIC Insurance Group posted a 0.64 percent rise in net profit to Sh709.99 million in the same period as net earnings of Liberty Kenya nearly tripled to Sh632 million from Sh213 million, while Sanlam Kenya emerged from a loss to post a Sh282.2 million net profit.
