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Kenyan operator Safaricom has launched its M-Pesa mobile money platform in Ethiopia, the largest mobile money platform in Africa. Safaricom aims to replicate the success of M-Pesa in other African markets.

M-Pesa was first introduced in Kenya in 2007 and has since expanded to six additional African markets. It processes transactions worth over three times Kenya’s GDP annually.

Safaricom entered the Ethiopian market in 2021 and has been working on expanding its mobile infrastructure. The company has attracted over two million subscribers and has its own infrastructure in 21 cities.

Launching M-Pesa in Ethiopia was a major attraction for Safaricom, but the Ethiopian government required them to wait a year to give incumbent operator Ethio Telecom time to launch its own mobile money platform, TeleBirr. TeleBirr has quickly gained customers and reported around 34 million active users and billion in transactions in the past six months.

Despite TeleBirr’s lead in the Ethiopian market, Safaricom sees significant potential for growth due to the country’s population of 120 million. M-Pesa is known for its role in expanding financial inclusion and Safaricom plans to offer a wide range of services on the M-Pesa platform.

The Ethiopian government plans to sell a 40% stake in Ethio Telecom and launch an auction for an additional telecom operating license. However, these plans have been delayed multiple times due to economic and political circumstances in the country.

Safaricom’s entry into the Ethiopian market with M-Pesa is a significant development in the mobile money space and has the potential to bring financial services to millions of people in Ethiopia.

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