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Safaricom, the Kenyan mobile network operator, is set to launch its M-Pesa mobile money service in Ethiopia in September 2023. The launch of M-Pesa in Ethiopia is a major milestone for Safaricom, as it will give the company a significant foothold in the country’s rapidly growing mobile money market.
M-Pesa is a mobile-based money transfer and payment service that has been hugely successful in Kenya. The service allows users to send and receive money, make payments, and buy goods and services using their mobile phones. M-Pesa has been credited with helping to reduce poverty and financial exclusion in Kenya, and it is expected to have a similar impact in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian government has been promoting the use of mobile money in recent years, and the launch of M-Pesa is a significant step in this process. The government believes that mobile money can help to improve financial inclusion in Ethiopia, and it has also expressed the hope that M-Pesa will help to boost economic growth.
The launch of M-Pesa in Ethiopia is a major event for the country, the mobile money industry, and Safaricom. It is a sign of the growing importance of mobile money in Africa, and it is likely to have a major impact on the way that people in Ethiopia make payments and access financial services.
Here are some of the benefits that M-Pesa is expected to bring to Ethiopia:
- Increased financial inclusion: M-Pesa will make it easier for people in Ethiopia to access financial services, even if they do not have a bank account.
- Improved efficiency: M-Pesa will make it easier and faster to send and receive money, which will boost economic activity.
- Increased transparency: M-Pesa will make it easier to track financial transactions, which will help to reduce fraud and corruption.
Here are some additional details:
- Safaricom’s Ethiopian business, Safaricom Ethiopia, has already reached 2.7 million customers since its commercial launch in October 2022.
- The Safaricom-led consortium became the first foreign-owned entity to be granted a mobile money service license in Ethiopia in May 2023.
- The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) welcomed the launch of M-Pesa, saying that it would “bring greater efficiency, safety, and transparency to the country’s rapidly growing financial system.”
The launch of M-Pesa in Ethiopia is a significant event for the country, the mobile money industry, and Safaricom. It is a sign of the growing importance of mobile money in Africa, and it is likely to have a major impact on the way that people in Ethiopia make payments and access financial services.
