Kenya-based Safaricom has been granted a licence by Ethiopia to launch M-Pesa in the federal republic and make the unit it’s subsidiary.
The announcement came during an investor briefing on Thursday, adding that the telco expects to roll out the mobile money services before the end of the year.
“As of this morning, Safaricom Ethiopia has officially been granted the licence to operate mobile money. We look forward to launching M-Pesa in the coming weeks,” chief executive officer Peter Ndegwa said.
The telco said it has completed talks with the Ethiopian government on how to set up the mobile financial service.
“In compliance with applicable legislations, the consortium through Safaricom Ethiopia will set up a new entity, Safaricom ET MSF to acquire Payment Instrument Issuer License (PIIL) and will offer mobile financial services under the M-Pesa brand,” the telco.
Safaricom started operations in the Ethiopian market in October last year, becoming the first private operator in one of Africa’s largest telecoms markets.
Safaricom Ethiopia grew its customer numbers to three million users seven months after its entry into the country.
Mr Ndegwa said voice, messaging and data services had been rolled out in 22 cities and regions with 1,272 network sites.
State-owned Ethio Telecom had until then enjoyed a monopoly in Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous country with an estimated 118 million people.
Safaricom is 35 per cent owned by the Kenyan government and 40 per cent by South Africa’s Vodacom, while the remaining shares are publicly listed.
In 2021, as part of plans to revamp the telecommunications sector, Ethiopia issued a tender to award two licences to private telecommunication operators.
“This is the first mobile money license granted to a foreign investor in Ethiopia,” it added.
With the new licence, the telco will now be able to offer services such as mobile banking, mobile wallets, internet banking, and card banking.
