Safaricom’s M-PESA Joins Forces with Onafriq to Simplify Remittances to Ethiopia

Safaricom’s fintech subsidiary M-Pesa has signed an International Money Transfer Agreement with Onafriq, the largest payments network in Africa, to help streamline remittance flows to Ethiopia from all over Africa, Europe, North America, and Australia.

The agreement with Onafriq allows payees in Ethiopia to receive remittance from different parts of the world through M-PESA, based on the authorization received from the National Bank of Ethiopia to start the remittance service in July 2023.

Speaking on the partnership, General Manager for Safaricom M-PESA Paul Kavavu said,

“Our goal is to make payment easier and the incorporation of international money transfer services into M-PESA serves that purpose perfectly. Ethiopia generates more than five billion USD in remittance annually and this partnership would provide the Ethiopian Diaspora with an easy and fast formal channel to send money to their loved ones in Ethiopia.”

Also speaking, Nika Naghavi, Group Head of Growth at Onafriq, said that the partnership will directly stimulate the realization of Ethiopia’s digital transformation strategy, coined ‘Digital Ethiopia 2025’. “We have always believed that payments should be a simple process that connect individuals through increased access. The agreement with M-PESA Safaricom extends our reach in Africa even further and strengthens our position as the best payments network in the continent.”

This partnership would complement Ethiopia’s efforts to generate foreign currency inflow through formal channels and offer a safe, inclusive and reliable service to customers through M-PESA.