Safaricom Connects Kenya And Ethiopia

Safaricom has extended its M-PESA Global service to Ethiopia, enabling effortless money transfers between Kenya and its northern neighbor.

Driven by M-PESA International Remittance, this initiative is set to transform the way people in both nations handle their financial transactions. In Just 14 months after Safaricom brought M-PESA to Ethiopia, the company has made rapid progress and is now setting new records. The growth comes after obtaining a Payment Instrument Issuer License from the National Bank of Ethiopia  (NBE) in August 2023, which ushered in a new era of international financial connections.

Safaricom entered Ethiopia’s market in August 2022, becoming the first private telecom to break into a space that had been controlled by Ethio telecom, a state- owned monopoly. Fast-forward to 2024, and what began as a daring venture has now evolved into a remarkable success, with Safaricom Ethiopia boasting 4.4 million active users as of March. ” We are pleased with the commercial momentum in Ethiopia and proud that we have been able to deliver this with a Safaricom Ethiopia team that is 90 percent Ethiopian,” noted Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom Kenya.

Three months after Safaricom Ethiopia received a Payment Instrument Issuer license from the NBE, the mobile money service M-Pesa launched in Ethiopia in August 2023 and In October 2022, it officially launched its national network in the nation’s capital Addis Ababa and ten other cities. Ethiopia, a country where financial services have often lagged, now stands ready to embrace mobile money with M-PESA set to change the game.

“Our M-Pesa Ethiopia customers should now be able to receive safe and affordable transfers from M-Pesa Kenya thanks to this collaboration, which will further promote the region’s adoption of digital payments,” Elsa Muzzolini, Safaricom Ethiopia’s chief financial services officer, said during the deal’s signing ceremony. Muzzolini said the collaboration comes at a time when the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has made foreign exchange policy reforms. M-PESA Global now operates in over 190 countries.

Safaricom is looking to connect East Africa in ways that go beyond borders. Esther Waititu, Safaricom Kenya’s Chief Financial Services Officer, highlighted the broader vision, transforming the ease of cross-border transactions and fueling new growth opportunities whether for small businesses or families. The key beneficiaries of the expanded service will include Ethiopians living and working in Kenya as well as Kenyans living and working in Ethiopia.