Safaricom ‘in talks’ to enter Ethiopia through M-Pesa product

Safaricom is in “advanced talks” with the Ethiopian government to introduce its popular M-Pesa mobile money service to the neighbouring country, a market of 100 million people, two sources said on Tuesday.

Britain’s Vodafone, Safaricom’s parent company, will license the use of the M-Pesa trade name to an Ethiopia-based bank while Safaricom will host the servers in Nairobi, one telecoms industry source told Reuters.

Ethiopia’s state telecommunications monopoly, Ethio telecom, will carry the service, the source added.