ArifPay has been named the winner of the first Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI) challenge in Ethiopia organised by Visa, the global leader in payments technology. The Initiative received applications from 59 fintechs that address digital payment challenges such as expanding access to payments and credit, increasing small merchant acceptance, and transforming B2B payments.

“Our warm congratulations to ArifPay, the winner of the first ever Visa Everywhere Initiative in Ethiopia. Through VEI, we were on the lookout to partner with fintechs that are creating secure, agile and seamless payment experiences, thereby putting new and evolved payment experiences into the hands of consumers and businesses. We are happy to have engaged with this vibrant community and look forward to creating unique payment experiences for Ethiopia,” Aida Diarra, Senior Vice President & Group Country Manager, Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), Visa said.

Here Is What You Need To Know

• ArifPay’s success in the Ethiopian edition has earned them a final place to compete at the CEMEA (Central Europe, Middle East, and Africa) stage for a total prize of $25,000, and if successful, they will advance to compete on a global stage for a total prize of $100,000.

• The fintech competition was part of the Ethiopian edition of VEI, the first country-specific VEI outside of the United States. VEI is a leading global innovation program that identifies and collaborates with fintechs to develop cutting-edge solutions to digital payment challenges, as well as to improve their product propositions and provide payment solutions to Visa’s vast network of partners.

“Ethiopia has a clear digital transformation vision towards 2025 and payments are a cornerstone driving this vision. Hence Ethiopia is the only country in SSA/CEMEA to have their own local edition of VEI outside of US. While VEI is a platform to enable fintechs to enhance and take their innovative solutions to market faster, we as Visa feel privileged to nurture the companies that are redefining the way Ethiopia pays,” said Salvador Perez Galindo, Vice President, Central Europe Middle East and Africa, Government Engagement at Visa.

• Visa has been strengthening its partnerships with Ethiopia’s payment ecosystem in recent months. In March 2021, Visa hosted Visa Payments Forum where stakeholders from the government and private sector got together to discuss the future of payments and just recently Visa signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Innovation and Technology to promote and drive digitization in Ethiopia.

• Since its inception in the United States in 2015, VEI has grown into a global platform with over 7000+ participating startups that have raised more than $2.5 billion in funding, with over 215 finalists and nearly 100 winners. The program has been implemented in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, affecting over 100 countries and involving nearly 2,100 fintech startups.

A Look At What ArifPay Does

Founded on February 26 this year by Habtamu Tadesse, former founder of Zay Ride (which is one of the pioneer ride-hailing platforms in Ethiopia), ArifPay is a mobile point of sale system which will allow ATM cardholders to make electronic transactions via their smartphones.

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M-pos and gateway-related digital financial items are among the company’s plans. Its aim is to allow people to perform financial transactions, such as payments, using their mobile phones.

The National Bank of Ethiopia is currently processing ArifPay’s application for a Payment System Operator License (for POS and Online gateway business). By the end of May 2021, Arifpay plans to have its services up and running.

“Once operational, ArifPay aspires to make a significant contribution to the financial sector by offering digital-based payments services that meet the needs of consumers and merchants towards cash-lite transactions in line with the national agenda of the digital economy,” said Tadesse.

ArifPay Visa ArifPay Visa

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer