Ethiopia Tech News
Ethiopia Changing Laws to Prepare for M-PESA Launch
Image sourced from WeeTracker Ethiopia has reportedly started changing certain national payments laws in an effort to clear the way for Safaricom to launch M-PESA, Africa’s largest fintech platform, to the Horn of Africa country’s virtually untapped market of 110-million people. The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has drafted a bill that will allow foreign investors to launch and operate mobile money services in the country, making way for companies like Safaricom, which is planning to begin operations in Ethiopia within the year. Last year, a consortium led by Safaricom and Vodafone secured Ethiopia’s first-ever private mobile telephony license for $850-million, however, the deal did not include or permit mobile financial services like M-PESA. According to Business Daily Africa, the NBE n...
Ethiopian Government Selling a 40% Stake in Ethio Telecom
Image sourced from Africanews. The Ethiopian government has announced a new tender process to begin the sale of a 40% stake in the state-owned telecommunications company, Ethio Telecom. The sale is still in its very early stages with the selection of a successful bidder expected only at the end of a significantly lengthy process. According to reports, the government plans to retain a 55% stake in the operator while the remaining 5% will be offered to domestic investors through an initial public offering. This new proposed sale of a large minority stake in the telecom comes as part of the Ethiopian government’s plan to liberalise the country’s monopoly in its telecom sector. Another key piece of the plan is for two foreign carriers to be granted licenses to operate in the vast, nearly-untap...
INTERVIEW: Strengthening the ICT Sector in Ethiopia
The ICT sector is fast-growing. To unpack this, Co-founder and CEO of iceaddis – Ethiopia’s first innovation hub and tech incubator – Markos Lemma talks to his experience of the East African country’s innovation ecosystem: How do you picture the development of ICT in Ethiopia? When we started iceaddis in 2011, Internet penetration was less than 1% among the population; and the role of ICT was limited. 10 years have passed since then; the internet penetration rate is around 19% today. We have seen significant progress in infrastructure, service provision, human capital and research. There are key players in the ICT sector and there is political willingness to advance this sector. In this regard, the contribution of the private sector is unneglectable. The Ministry of Innovation & techno...
Safaricom Eyes an Opportunity to Expand into Ethiopia
Sourced from CGTN. Safaricom PLC is planning to extend its reach into Ethiopia, Kenya’s northern neighbour. Although not initially successful with its first few attempts, new changes within the Ethiopian government may prove beneficial for the mobile carrier to finally establish a presence within the country. Last month, the Ethiopian government said that it would be impossible for Safaricom’s M-PESA service to have any space in the market. The Ethiopian central bank about reiterated that no foreign financial institutions would be allowed to offer mobile money services in the country. Now, the good news for Safaricom is that the company was recently offered a window to buy into Ethio Telecom, the country’s mass-monopoly provider whose privatisation process is currently underway. This is on...
