Safaricom has partnered with Indonesia-based telco Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (Indosat or IOH) to deliver advanced networks, tailor-made customer experiences and secure digital financial services.

The new alliance brings together Indosat’s transformative journey to become an AI-Native Telco with Safaricom’s globally recognized success in building one of the world’s most mature mobile financial ecosystems through M-PESA. 

According to the two companies, the deal is also designed to focus on practical use cases that can quickly translate into better customer experiences, stronger digital trust and smarter network investments.

"From smarter networks and safer transactions to more intuitive digital experiences, this collaboration goes beyond innovation; it is about shaping inclusive digital economies where individuals, businesses, and communities can thrive," noted Safaricom CEO, Dr. Peter Ndegwa.

At the customer level, the two companies said they will work on advanced AI-driven decisioning to enable more proactive and hyper-personalised engagement. 

This includes exploring capabilities such as predictive care that can identify and resolve network issues before customers are impacted, smarter and more relevant product recommendations for prepaid users, and conversational AI experiences that make customer support faster, simpler, and more human.

In parallel, Indosat will tap into Safaricom’s deep operational expertise in mobile financial services to strengthen the resilience, security, and personalization of digital financial journeys. 

The collaboration will focus on areas that matter most to consumers today, including AI-powered fraud and risk management, improving payment reliability during peak moments, expanding merchant and ecosystem capabilities, and enabling more tailored financial offerings based on customer behavior.

“We are focused on delivering innovations that customers can genuinely feel from smarter networks and safer digital transactions to more personal and intuitive experiences. Ultimately, this is part of our larger purpose to empower Indonesia’s digital future and ensure no one is left behind," said Vikram Sinha, CEO, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison.

Beyond customer and financial innovation, the partnership is also expected to sharpen how Indosat plans and invests in its network. Through the exploration of CNX-based Smart CAPEX and AI-led insights, the companies aim to help ensure network investments are increasingly precise, demand-driven, and impactful particularly in high-growth and underserved areas where connectivity improvements can unlock real economic value.

Recognizing that AI transformation ultimately depends on people, both parties will also collaborate to strengthen leadership and talent capabilities. Joint initiatives will focus on building AI-fluent executives, developing Business–AI Translator roles, and enabling cross-organizational learning journeys and short-term secondments to accelerate capability transfer and institutional learning.

As digital adoption accelerates across emerging markets, Indosat and Safaricom share a common belief: the next phase of growth will be defined not just by connectivity, but by how intelligently networks, platforms, and financial services work together to serve customers better.