Safaricom has outlined how M-PESA’s role in Ethiopia differs significantly from its impact in Kenya, where the mobile money platform has long been credited with transforming access to financial services and accelerating the country’s digital economy.
In Kenya, M-PESA is widely viewed as the catalyst that pulled millions into the formal financial system. By enabling seamless transfers between banked and unbanked individuals, the platform helped raise the share of financially included adults from just 27 percent in 2006 to nearly 85 percent today.
Ethiopia presents a very different landscape. With close to 30 banks and more than 8,250 branches and ATMs supporting a population of about 125 million people, access to traditional banking is already extensive.
Safaricom Ethiopia Chief Executive Officer Wim Vanhelleputte says that while Kenya needed a solution to bridge the gap between the banked and the unbanked, Ethiopia’s biggest challenge lies elsewhere.
According to Vanhelleputte, the Ethiopian economy still relies heavily on physical cash—partly because the country’s highest-value currency note is equivalent to about KSh200. Visitors to Addis Ababa quickly notice the inconvenience of carrying large bundles of cash for everyday transactions.
“We are not resolving a money transfer gap in Ethiopia,” said Vanhelleputte. “What we are addressing with M-PESA is the need to shift daily payments from cash to digital channels.”
Safaricom Ethiopia sees this as an opportunity rather than a setback. Since M-PESA’s suite of services is already developed and battle-tested in Kenya, the company can deploy digital payment features—including merchant payments, wallet services and integrations—without the trial-and-error that marked its early years in Kenya, such as initial Lipa na M-PESA pilots in supermarkets.
“For a product to succeed, it must be relevant,” Vanhelleputte noted. “You solve a real customer pain point, and adoption follows. In Ethiopia, that pain point is digital payments.”
The company is buoyed by early signs of progress. Out of M-PESA Ethiopia’s 10.8 million customers, about one-third already use digital channels—a strong indicator, according to Vanhelleputte, that consumers understand the value of convenient electronic payments, especially in an economy where banks are widespread.
As M-PESA marks its 18th year, Safaricom Ethiopia is positioning the platform as a digital payments engine designed to complement—rather than replace—the country’s banking ecosystem. Vanhelleputte says the next phase will focus on expanding merchant acceptance, deepening integrations and scaling the digital experience for both consumers and businesses.
Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
