Safaricom has officially launched its commercial operations in Ethiopia. The company's offering includes voice, data, and SMS. It will soon launch mobile money services.
Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia (STE) wants to provide mobile financial services via its M-Pesa mobile money platform in Ethiopia in addition to cell phone services. To this end, the operator received approval from the Ethiopian government on Thursday, October 6, during the ceremony for the official launch of its commercial activities.
The approval enables Safaricom to begin the process aimed at securing a mobile payment service provider license from the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE).
Safaricom acquired Ethiopia's first private telecom license in July 2021. The license did not include mobile money services, partly because Ethiopian law did not allow foreign investors to operate in the Ethiopian financial sector. In April 2022, the NBE announced a bill amending financial laws to allow foreign investors to offer mobile money services in the Ethiopian telecom market.
In the Ethiopian mobile money segment, M-Pesa will notably compete with Telebirr, the mobile money services launched by incumbent operator Ethio Telecom. Telebirr was launched in May 2021, but, within weeks, it attracted four million users and has more than 21 million users now. The introduction of M-Pesa is expected to bring more competition, increased innovation in value-added services, and improved service quality. It will also bring more revenues for the government.
Isaac K. Kassouwi
(EBID) - EBID aims to allocate nearly 41% of its commitments to projects with environmental and...
Mahindra & Mahindra is considering a CKD assembly plant near Durban to strengthen its presence i...
Mobile phones have become essential tools for work, education, payments and staying connected across...
BOAD exits BOA Bénin and Niger, sells stakes to Sonimex BOA Bénin posts growth; BOA Niger see...
MTN Ghana launches crackdown on mobile money agent fraud Audits trigger warnings, suspensions...
Eramet targets gradual restart of Grande Côte mine after February fire Output and revenue fell sharply in the first quarter 2026 production...
Kenya plans to invest in Uganda’s Hoima refinery after pipeline stake deal Cross-shareholdings point to a more integrated East African oil...
Africa’s ultra-wealthy population expected to rise 15% by 2031 Continent’s share of global wealth declines amid faster growth...
Togo holds talks with IMF and World Bank during Washington meetings Focus on tools to manage crises and protect vulnerable...
CANAL+'s film arm backs a ZAR 300-million feature rooted in South Africa's anti-apartheid music movement. Production kicks off June 29 in Cape Town,...
Burkina Faso launches “SORA” university series filming in Ouagadougou 25-episode project explores student life challenges and...