M-Pesa launches in Ethiopia

Safaricom has successfully introduced its revolutionary M-Pesa mobile money service in Ethiopia, following the attainment of a payment instrument issuer license sanctioned by the National Bank of Ethiopia.

Customers of Safaricom Ethiopia can now readily access the application to facilitate domestic money transfers, both sending and receiving.

The application’s functionality extends to enabling the receipt of funds from overseas, executing payments to merchants, purchasing airtime, and conducting transfers to personal bank accounts.

Paul Kavavu, the interim General Manager of Safaricom M-Pesa Mobile Financial Services, underlines the significance of M-Pesa, stating, “M-Pesa is Africa’s most successful mobile money service and the region’s largest FinTech platform both for the banked and unbanked due to its safety and convenience. It also provides financial services to millions of people who have mobile phones, but do not have bank accounts, or only have limited access to banking services.”

Having been initially launched in 2007, M-Pesa presently boasts a substantial customer base exceeding 51 million individuals across seven countries in Africa.

During its inception 16 years ago, the platform even received financial support from the UK Department for International Development in collaboration with Vodafone.

Meanwhile, within the realm of African FinTech, distinguished venture capital entity Beyond Capital Ventures (BCV) has strategically invested in Zanifu, an inventive financial services platform dedicated to empowering small retailers throughout the African continent.

While the exact investment sum remains undisclosed, the move clearly underscores BCV’s recognition of Zanifu’s promising potential. This investment venture aligns with BCV’s ongoing commitment to achieving robust financial gains while simultaneously fostering positive social transformations in East Africa.