International financial services: Ethio Telecom strengthens its partnership with Mastercard
April 13th 2026
Ethio Telecom remains the leading mobile money provider in Ethiopia. Its platform, launched in May 2021, has a total of 58.6 million subscriptions, compared to approximately 5 million for Safaricom’s M-Pesa.
Ethiopia’s state-owned telecommunications company, Ethio Telecom, aims to strengthen its partnership with payment solutions provider Mastercard. The country’s incumbent operator seeks to improve its position in the international financial services market.
This orientation was at the heart of a meeting held on Wednesday, April 8, between Frehiwot Tamru, CEO of Ethio Telecom, and a delegation from Mastercard led by Shehryar Ali, senior vice president and country director of the company for East Africa.
According to Ethio Telecom, the collaboration helps develop cross-border payments and money transfer services, while opening up new opportunities to create value for customers and businesses. Discussions focused on strengthening strategic synergies by integrating Ethio Telecom’s digital capabilities into Mastercard’s global ecosystem. The goal is to deploy innovative fintech solutions, improve multi-currency liquidity, and streamline international financial flows.
The two partners also agreed to simplify integration processes and accelerate product development and time to market.
This collaboration is part of a dynamic that began in March 2025, when the two parties formalized their partnership. It aims to leverage their respective platforms to improve digital financial services, expand financial inclusion, and support sustainable growth.
Before Mastercard, Ethio Telecom already collaborated with Visa on international financial services. Their partnership notably enabled the launch, in August 2024, of a virtual payment card as well as the Telebirr Remit and Visa Direct money transfer solutions.
Through these alliances, the operator seeks to expand beyond the local market, where it already holds a strong position, to capture the growing demand for international payments and money transfers. According to a report by the venture capital fund Oui Capital published in May 2025, the cross-border payments market in Africa could reach $1 trillion by 2035, compared to $329 billion in 2025. Mobile money is expected to play a central role in this growth.
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