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Today, Safaricom M-Pesa Mobile Financial Service Plc received a mobile money service license from the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), becoming the first foreign investor in the sector to do so.
The issuance is in line with NBE’s continuous goals of “fostering financial innovation and inclusion in the Ethiopian market,” the company said.
The NBE stated that Ethiopia’s digital financial services had “expanded rapidly” and include mobile banking, mobile wallet, internal banking, and card banking.
The amended National Payment System Proclamation was approved by the Ethiopian Parliament in December of last year, “to facilitate their participation without the need to wait for revised the banking law,” Central Bank Governor Mamo Mihretu stated at the time. This allowed foreign companies to participate in payment system operations.
Read: Fuliza Ya Biashara; Safaricom Launches A New Product
Read: Safaricom to Launch M-Pesa Service in the Ethiopian Market
M-Pesa is to be Rolled Out in Ethiopia before the End of The Year
Safaricom expects to roll out M-Pesa services before the end of the year, which is set to lift the profile of service since its launch in Kenya in 2007.
“As of this morning, Safaricom Ethiopia has officially been granted the license to operate mobile money. We look forward to launching M-Pesa in the coming weeks”
chief executive officer Peter Ndegwa
Safaricom Ethiopia grew its customer base to over three million subscribers in seven months after entering Ethiopia, with M-Pesa service at hand, the Telco expects the number to increase.
Since its inception, Safaricom Ethiopia has employed 909 staff and has rolled out Voice, Messaging, and Data services across 22 cities and regions with 1272 network sites.
