Ethiopian companies do not have the capability to accept digital payments through their digital platforms, such as websites and mobile apps, but Moneta Technologies, the fully-owned subsidiary of Fettan Holdings, Limited of Kenya, that is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has just rewritten this history. This comes after the official launch of Amole eCommerce Gateway, which accepts Visa, Mastercard, and American Express cards using Visa CyberSource infrastructure. The Amole eCommerce gateway is Ethiopia’s first to accept all three big foreign credit cards. Dashen will soon extend its acquiring partnership to include more digital payment types. Since March of this year, select merchants have had access to the Amole eCommerce Gateway.

“We are delighted to partner with Dashen and Visa CyberSource to launch this product that supports Dashen’s customers and over 8000 Amole merchants to accept digital payments from anywhere in the world. This partnership and technology play a pivotal role in delivering more value to merchants by linking them to more global eCommerce marketplace opportunities. In the near future, we will be offering the Amole eCommerce Gateway to other Ethiopian Banks that currently have international card acquiring licenses from international card associations,” Yemriu Chanyalew, CEO of Moneta Technologies (“Moneta”) said. 

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Why This Is Very Significant For The Startup Ecosystem In Ethiopia

This launch means many things, but most importantly, it means that the Ethiopian economy and tech startup ecosystem is fast opening up to the outside world. Hotels, tour and travel companies, and retailers in Ethiopia are unable to market their products and services to international customers through the internet. Customers travelling to Ethiopia couldn’t get a verified reservation and peace of mind because local hotel chains couldn’t accept international cards online to guarantee a reservation, putting them at a disadvantage. Now, local hotels in Ethiopia can now accept online payments and secure reservations thanks to Amole.

“With the Visa CyberSource payments infrastructure, businesses will accept online payments seamlessly. Consumers, tourists and visitors coming to Ethiopia will have access to a secured payment service. Moreover, the diaspora community can shop for their families and friends living in Ethiopia. All this will be carried out on a secured and risk-free online environment, said Abebe Girmay, Visa’s Country Manager for Ethiopia.

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“We are very excited to work with Moneta and Visa CyberSource to bring this product to the Ethiopian market, leveraging our combined assets to broaden our offering to a larger number of Dashen merchants. We believe this product will help the National Bank of Ethiopia’s goal to increase the formal forex inflows and reduce the forex cash being brought into the country which potentially ends up in the informal market.” said Asfaw Alemu, CEO of Dashen.

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

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