M-PESA Safaricom, Onafriq Enable Remittances Flow to Ethiopia

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

An International Money Transfer Agreement has been signed by M-PESA Safaricom with Onafriq, Africa’s largest digital payments network to help streamline remittances flow to Ethiopia.

The incorporation of International Money Transfer capability into its offering allows M-PESA to tap into and leverage Onafriq’s extensive network, connecting 500 million mobile money wallets and 200 million bank accounts.

This vast reach enables domestic and cross-border disbursements and collections, card issuing and processing, agency banking, and treasury services.

Last year, the World Bank stated that the remittances flow to countries in sub-Saharan Africa reached $54 billion in 2023, an increase from the previous year’s gain.

This increase was driven by strong remittance growth in countries like Mozambique, Rwanda and Ethiopia, and M-PESA believes it can tap into this sector through Onafriq, which operates in 40 African countries.

M‑PESA provides individuals with quick and easy financial services through a mobile phone. Users do not need a bank account, just a Safaricom sim card.

Through the agreement, individuals within Ethiopia can receive remittances from different parts of the world through M-PESA, 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,” the General Manager at Safaricom Ethiopia, Mr Paul Kavavu, said.

“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,” the Group Head of Growth at Onafriq, Nika Naghavi, stated.