45 million mobile money subscriptions: why a reward can reach almost anyone
Kenya's telecoms data explains why reward advertising works here: the phone number is already the wallet, the ID and the channel.
The Communications Authority of Kenya reported 76.16 million mobile SIM subscriptions in March 2025, a penetration rate of 145.3 percent, and 45.36 million mobile money subscriptions served by 416,994 registered agents.
For advertising, those are not telecoms statistics. They describe a distribution network: a registered number that reaches a person, identifies that person and can receive value.
Why that matters for rewards
- A reward only persuades if it is easy to receive. Airtime and data land on the number the consumer already has.
- A reward is only fair if it goes to one real person. Tying it to a registered number does that.
- A campaign is only open to a small business if it is easy to pay for. Advertisers fund TAM campaigns by M-Pesa.
In Kenya the phone number is already the wallet, the ID and the channel. Reward advertising uses all three at once.
Markets without that infrastructure have tried reward advertising and struggled with the payout. Here, the payout is the easy part.
Sources
Written by Teleeza Insights
