Safaricom Ethiopia has reported rapid growth since launching commercial operations just over a year ago, with M-PESA proving an instant hit since its August debut.
The company now has 4.34 million 90-day active customers, up from 2.74 million last year. Total revenues for the nine months to December were KES 4.8 billion, nearly triple the KES 1.7 billion for the full 2022 financial year.
“We have made significant progress in expanding network roll-out and the great momentum M-PESA has gained since switching on M-PESA services on 15 Aug 2023,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO of parent company Safaricom PLC.
By year’s end, Safaricom Ethiopia had 3.1 million registered M-PESA customers, 26,200 M-PESA agents and 43,100 merchants on board.
The mobile money service has proven a hit in Ethiopia, where the National Bank aims to increase financial inclusion from 45% of adults in 2020 to 70% by 2025. M-PESA processed transactions worth KES 18.5 billion in its first few months. “The opportunity for M-PESA in the over 119Mn populous nation of Ethiopia remains untapped given the low levels of financial inclusion,” the company said.
Safaricom Ethiopia is also expanding its network rapidly, a key focus for the fledgling operator. It has launched 2,242 base stations so far, covering 33 cities and 33% of the population. “We have established the fastest data network in Ethiopia, offering our customers superior customer experience,” said Ndegwa.
Mobile data revenue made up over half the company’s sales in the nine months to December, at 2.5 billion shillings. Data usage per customer has now surpassed levels in Kenya, reaching 4.76GB at quarter’s end versus 1.5GB at launch.
Safaricom entered the Ethiopian market in October 2021 after acquiring the country’s first private telecoms license for $850 million. It has built its network from scratch in Africa’s second most populous nation, where state monopoly Ethio Telecom has long dominated.
