Safaricom has paid Kes20.5 billion to get a mobile financial services licence from the Ethiopian government.

Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa confirmed that the amount is a one-off payment, meaning the telco will not be required to pay additional fees.

“We have paid $150 million to be able to acquire the licence. We always considers this as part of one off licence. It does not require us to pay any other licence going forward,” Ndegwa said.

The CEO noted that the firm will be regulated in the same way that we are regulated in Kenya in terms of a payment instrument issuer.

Earlier today, Safaricom announced having been granted a licence by the National Bank of Ethiopia, allowing the telecommunication company to expand its M-Pesa services to the untapped Horn of Africa country with over 100 million people.

Did you read this?

  1. Gov't Plans To Forcefully Recover Ksh.7B In Defaulted Hustler Fund loans From M-Pesa Accounts
  2. M-Pesa Services To Be Unavailable For 4 Hours Due To Scheduled Maintenance
  3. Pesapal Unveils Feature On POS Devices To Ease Tipping

The Payment Instrument Issuer Licence is the first to be issued to a foreign investor in the nation.

“The National Bank of Ethiopia has today issued a mobile money service license to Safaricom M-Pesa Mobile Financial Service Plc, a subsidiary of Safaricom Telecommunication Ethiopia Plc,” the National Bank of Ethiopia said in a statement.

With the new licence, the telco can now offer mobile banking, mobile wallets, internet banking, and card banking services.

“And I know that the National Bank of Ethiopia is already preparing for issuing the detailed credentials guidelines about how we operate,” Ndegwa said.

“But based on what we have seen they are largely similar to the other markets where our mobile money is operating.”