Dahabshiil and M-Pesa Partner to Facilitate Money Transfers for Ethiopian Diaspora

African money transfer company Dahabshiil and Safaricom Ethiopia’s M-Pesa have forged a partnership to enable the Ethiopian diaspora to send money directly to M-Pesa mobile wallets.

This collaboration aims to simplify the process of sending money to Ethiopia from abroad, ensuring faster transfers and enhanced security.

M-Pesa, a well-established financial service provider in Kenya, offers consumers the ability to manage their finances via mobile phones. Its introduction to Ethiopia came after Safaricom obtained a license to become the first non-state mobile service operator in the country.

Dahabshiil, founded in 1970, predates M-Pesa and started as a remittance service to help migrants send money back to their families in East Africa. Today, Dahabshiil claims to be the largest African money transfer business, operating in 126 countries worldwide, including 40 in Africa. It serves individual customers, businesses, and international organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, Oxfam, and Save the Children.

In 2023, sub-Saharan Africa received an estimated US$54 billion in remittances, with Ethiopia alone generating over US$5 billion annually. The M-Pesa-Dahabshiil service aims to capture a share of this market by offering Ethiopians a secure and convenient way to send and receive money, thereby empowering individuals and families.

Source: Developing Telecoms