Safaricom Ethiopia has 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.

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 services such as mobile banking, mobile wallets, internet banking, and card banking.

Further, the Bank stated that the issuance of the mobile money license reflects the NBE’s on-going objective of fostering financial innovation and inclusion in the Ethiopian market.

“We welcome this shift to the use of digital financial services so as to bring greater efficiency, safety, and transparency to the country’s rapidly growing financial system.”

Safaricom Ethiopia received a nod from the Ethiopian government to roll out M-Pesa in October last year.

The deal was brokered by President William Ruto and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“The National Bank of Ethiopia wishes Safaricom’s M-PESA service well as it launches its operations in the very near future.”