Safaricom Unveils Its Mobile Money Service In Ethiopia

Safaricom, the largest telecommunication provider in Kenya, has launched its M-Pesa mobile money service in Ethiopia. The mobile money service will now be available to customers in Ethiopia, allowing them to transfer funds between each other easily.

Safaricom’s M-Pesa goes live in Ethiopia

All the customers at Safaricom Ethiopia can now download the mobile application. They can use the app to send and receive money in Ethiopia. Users in the country can also start receiving funds from other countries, pay merchants, purchase airtime, and transfer funds to their bank accounts.

The interim GM at Safaricom M-Pesa Mobile Financial Services, Paul Kavavu, said that the mobile money platform had succeeded in the continent. The executive noted that it was Africa’s most successful mobile money service and the largest fintech company.

According to Kavavu, M-Pesa served both the banked and the unbanked. It offers a high level of safety and convenience to users. This fintech platform’s offerings allow users to send and receive money seamlessly.

“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,” Kavavu said. “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.”

M-Pesa was launched in Kenya on March 6, 2007. The UK Department for International Development originally conceived the platform through a partnership deal with Vodafone.

M-Pesa has grown significantly and now has over 51 million customers. It has a presence in seven countries across Africa. These countries include Kenya, Egypt, Congo, Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Lesotho and Mozambique.

M-Pesa’s Expansion To Ethiopia

When M-Pesa was launching in Ethiopia, Safaricom opined that the platform would promote financial inclusion. At the time, the company also said it would continue expanding its customer offerings.

Safaricom was the first private telecommunications company to provide services in Ethiopia. Its expansion to the Horn of Africa started in 2019 after the government liberalized the sector that was previously dominated by an Ethiopian telecom provider known as Ethio Telecom.

Safaricom is betting on the success of its services in Ethiopia. The country has around 120 million people and ranks among Africa’s youngest populations. The expansion of Safaricom into the country is expected to power its growth in the coming years.

Analysts believe that Ethiopia presents massive opportunities for growth to Safaricom. However, the company needs to make significant investments in the country to sustain this growth and put Safaricom under pressure to deliver swift results.

The core earnings for Safaricom dropped by a fifth in the financial year ending March 31. The high costs of setting up operations in Ethiopia affected the financials. The telecoms provider is also facing immense competition from Ethio Telecom, the largest telecommunications provider in the country.