The deal will let both purchasers expand the service to new African markets. Vodacom owns 35% of Safaricom and pays 5% in an intellectual property fee to Vodafone from its M-Pesa business, which is mainly in Tanzania.
The acquisition of the intellectual property rights by the new joint venture will allow the partners to develop local products like Fuliza, an M-Pesa overdraft facility, launched in Kenya in January 2019.
Vodafone holds a 5% stake in Safaricom.
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