Safricom Ethiopia has inked an International Money Transfer Agreement with Onafriq that will guarantee the telco a slice of Ethiopia’s remittance inflows.
Through its mobile money service, M-pesa, individuals within Ethiopia will be able to receive remittances from different parts of the world based on the authorisation received from the National Bank of Ethiopia to start the remittance service in July 2023.
“Our goal is to make payments easier, and the incorporation of International Money Transfer services into M-PESA serves that purpose perfectly. Ethiopia generates more than five billion USD in remittances annually and this partnership will provide the Ethiopian Diaspora with an easy and fast formal channel to send money to their loved ones in Ethiopia,” said Paul Kavavu, Safaricom Ethiopia General Manager.
Safaricom Plc will leverage Onafriq’s extensive network which connects 500 million mobile money wallets and 200 million bank accounts.
Onafriq says its vast reach enables domestic and cross-border disbursements and collections, card issuing and processing, agency banking, and treasury services.
“We have always believed that payments should be a simple process, as simple as a phone call – connecting individuals through increased access. The agreement with M-PESA Safaricom extends our reach in Africa even further and strengthens our position as the largest payment network on the continent. We are confident that this partnership will positively impact economic growth and the achievement of greater sustainable development goals,” added Nika Naghavi, Onafriq Group Head of Growth.
Onafriq currently has footprint in more than 40 African countries.
In 2023 according to the World Bank, remittance inflows to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa reached $54 billion with strong performance being recorded in Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Rwanda.
