A groundbreaking moment has arrived in Ethiopia’s financial landscape as M-PESA, the revolutionary mobile financial service by Safaricom, has officially launched. This achievement comes just three months after securing the esteemed Payment Instrument Issuer License from the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) in May 2023.
The journey to this pivotal juncture has been marked by careful planning and a meticulous three-month pilot phase. Through extensive technical preparations and strategic collaborations with key banks, M-PESA has emerged as a transformative force in the Ethiopian financial sector. The process also included a strategic recruitment drive, comprehensive training, and onboarding of a dedicated network of M-PESA agents, laying the groundwork for a seamless customer experience.
Radiating enthusiasm, Stanley Njoroge, the Interim CEO of Safaricom Ethiopia, heralded the dawn of this new era. “We are excited to go live with M-Pesa in Ethiopia and start providing Mobile Financial Services to our customers,” Njoroge exclaimed. He emphasized the far-reaching impact of M-PESA as a catalyst for financial inclusion, ensuring a “safe and secure platform for transactions” for a staggering 51 million customers spanning across seven African nations.
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Njoroge’s sentiment was mirrored in his commitment to expanding M-PESA’s offerings, aiming to enhance the quality of life for its users. “We will continue to broaden the services our customers receive from the M-PESA platform that will improve the quality of life for our customers,” he affirmed, highlighting the platform’s evolving role as a transformative companion to daily life.
A testament to Safaricom Ethiopia’s dedication, the expansion efforts of the past ten months have borne fruit. The company has extended its reach to encompass 147 new towns, connecting with over four million customers throughout Ethiopia.
The accessibility of M-PESA to all Safaricom Ethiopia customers is a pivotal aspect of this transformative journey. By dialing *733# on their Safaricom line, both Android and iOS users gain instant access to M-PESA’s array of services. While the Android app, available on the Play Store, supports five languages, the iOS version is set to launch in the coming weeks.
M-PESA’s functionality is as extensive as it is impactful. Beyond its role in peer-to-peer transactions, M-PESA facilitates cross-border remittances, streamlines merchant payments, enables airtime purchases, and offers seamless fund transfers between personal bank accounts and M-PESA, as well as the reverse.
Paul Kavavu, Interim General Manager of Safaricom M-PESA Mobile Financial Services Plc, echoed the triumphs of M-PESA across Africa. He termed it “Africa’s most successful mobile money service,” a cornerstone of financial empowerment for both the banked and the unbanked. The remarkable success in Kenya, where over 90% of adults enjoy mobile banking access, serves as a testament to M-PESA’s transformative potential.
Kavavu expressed optimism about extending this narrative of transformation to Ethiopia, envisaging a future where M-PESA becomes a beacon of empowerment. “We look forward to replicating this success in Ethiopia and are excited to go live with the services. In the coming months, we will continue to add more functions and work with all Ethiopians to jointly realize the transformative power of M-PESA,” Kavavu proclaimed, encapsulating the shared vision of Safaricom Ethiopia and M-PESA as agents of positive change.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard