eSIM providers eye Kenya's growing diaspora market

For many Kenyan families, one of their greatest fears is losing contact with a loved one working abroad, especially when communication suddenly stops without explanation. A lot of conspiracy theories take hostage of their minds as they try to deduce what might have happened. Are they unwell? Is it a network issue? Have they cut us off? Are they dead?

For some families, the latter might be the unfortunate answer they get.

In some cases, the missing kin abroad might have been dead for weeks or months, without the family knowing, all because of lost communication.

While the 32 page booklet might be the passport used to gain access to a foreign land, a mobile phone is what keeps one connected back at home.

Yet for many workers who get opportunities abroad, a feature phone or a low end smartphone is the device in use. If one is using a feature phone, then roaming charges apply, which is an expensive way to communicate, as the devices are not internet friendly. In such scenarios, electronic sim cards (eSIMs) become the option. But this needs high end smart phones that can accommodate this technology. It is one of the challenges that providers of these services face and cite as the reason behind slow penetration.

“Imagine a scenario where you have just landed in the Middle East, as that is the country where most of our Kenyan workers go, and you are not connected. You do not know anyone yet you are supposed to be received by someone and your phone is out of network. You will even start regretting why you travelled in the first place,” says Esivo Ltd Director Geoffrey Mbuthia, which owns SafSIM, an eSIM service. Unlike the standard sim card that is physical, which many Kenyans know of, an eSIM is not physical. It is embedded in the phone’s network to help a user stay connected through the internet.

Safaricom and Airtel have such products. It is a critical necessity for Kenyans travelling abroad and for tourists visiting the country.

Mbuthia says unlike other providers, SafSIM is one eSIM for all destinations across the world.

He explains that if you are going to Dubai, and on arrival, you decide to proceed to South Africa, you just top up and continue.

If you then decide to proceed to China, you do the same.

This product or service is, however, limited to phones that are compatible. Unfortunately, he says, such phones are not common in Africa.

“That is one of the challenges we are facing because Africa is not like Europe or America where most of the phones are compatible,” he says.

“Many phones (in Africa) are of good quality but that aspect of being compatible is where the challenge is. But we are looking at that.”

He says the company has made the service easier for users by allowing those who have iPhones or the latest Android phones to install the eSIM on purchase by tapping the screen.

Mobile subscription

 This is instead of scanning a QR code, which is the common method, arguing that most people do not have two phones that are required to facilitate this process.

According to the quarterly statistics by the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA), total mobile subscription for the quarter that ended on March 2026, closed at 84 million, a growth of 7.3 per cent when compared to the quarter that ended on December 2025.

The number of feature phones closed the March 2026 quarter at 28.5 million, a slight drop of 3.7 per cent when compared to the preceding period. This is as smartphones grew to 50.1 million from 48.7 million.

“It is noteworthy that the number of smartphones connected to the network increased during the quarter, while the number of feature phones, which primarily support basic voice calls, text messaging and low-speed data services declined,” CA says in the report.

“This trend is expected to continue considering the falling device costs, expanded high-speed mobile network infrastructure and the growing necessity of mobile-based economic and social services in the country.”

 Mobile network

The report adds that the 78.7 million mobile phone devices connected to mobile networks translate to a penetration of 147.6 per cent.

“Smartphones accounted for the largest share of 63.7 per cent of the total mobile phones,” says the regulator. On the other hand, more than 500,000 Kenyans have secured jobs abroad, according to data from the Office of the President.

Annually, Kenya is said to receive Sh931.8 billion in diaspora remittances as detailed by a joint report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

These figures speak to the potential in the penetration of eSIMs.

Globally, according to the global association of mobile network operators (GSMA), eSIM smartphone penetration stood at five per cent in 2025.

“That figure will reach 10 per cent by the end of 2026 and double again in 2027,” says GSMA. “By 2030, eSIM smartphone connections will outnumber those on traditional removable SIMs.” Mbuthia, with knowledge of how costly high end smartphones are in the country, says the company is working on a way to make eSIMs physical to eliminate the compatibility challenge and increase penetration.

“It (the eSIM) does not have a number but through the integration of our website and system, it can be able to provide internet as if you had the eSIM,” he says.