Safaricom Awarded License to Operate Mobile Money Services in Ethiopia

Safaricom has been awarded the license to roll out its M-pesa service in Ethiopia in a deal brokered by President William Ruto and Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

During the Thursday state visit, the two reached an agreement on modalities to grant a mobile financial services license to the giant telco.

“We congratulate Safaricom for being authorized to run mobile money in Ethiopia,” said President Ruto via his official Twitter handle.

In May 2021 Safaricom Plc with four others through a consortium, won a new telecommunication licenses to operate in Ethiopia with the telco angling for more stake in the Ethiopian communication market.

In a bid to gain ground in the new market the teleco will start rolling out mobile money services after it was granted license to offer financial services.

Safaricom Ethiopia says it has successfully rolled out its network across different parts of the country. The Ethiopian subsidiary, known as the Global Partnership for Ethiopia, is a joint venture involving Safaricom, Vodacom Group, Vodafone Group, Sumitomo Corporation and the British International Investment.

Safaricom owns 55.7pc stake in the company. Up until Safaricom made forays into Ethiopia, State-owned Ethio Telecom had enjoyed a monopoly.

Safaricom Ethiopia switched on its network and services in the capital Addis Ababa on Thursday following network pilots in 10 cities.

Safaricom Ethiopia said it plans a national network rollout to reach 14 additional cities by April 2023.

Safaricom Group Chief Executive Julius Ndegwa has said the company will continue to roll-out new products to cater for the Ethiopian market which has more than 70 million potential subscribers.