Ethiopia: Safaricom prepares to launch M-Pesa in Ethiopia
March 2nd 2022
In May 2021, Prime Minister Abyi Ahmed excluded new telecom operators from the mobile money segment for one year. Two months before the expiry of this deadline, Safaricom is stamping its feet with impatience.
The telecommunications operator Safaricom is preparing the launch of the mobile financial service M-Pesa in Ethiopia, in parallel with the imminent start of its activities in the country. Pedro Rabacal, CTO of Safaricom, revealed that the company has already ordered the hardware for its Mobile Money platform. Safaricom is only waiting for authorization from the authorities to import the said equipment.
“ To operate M-Pesa, we would need a license similar to that of Ethio telecom for Telebirr, issued by the National Bank. We are preparing diligently on the assumption that we will launch the service as the Prime Minister said on May 20, 2021 that in 12 months foreign telecom operators will be licensed ,” said Matthew Harrison-Harvey, Director of External Affairs and Safaricom regulations.
Safaricom is currently one of the African Mobile Money champions alongside other telecom operators with several subsidiaries such as MTN Group, Orange and Vodacom Group. The company claimed 28.31 million users at the end of the 2020 financial year against 46.37 million for MTN Group and 21.9 million for Orange.
Safaricom has the experience to capitalize on the mobile financial services segment of the Ethiopian telecom market. The company has distinguished itself in recent years in Kenya with innovative offers which have earned it the position of leader in this segment today. Ethio Telecom only launched its Mobile Money service, Telebirr, in May 2021.
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