Safaricom is in the final stages of preparing to launch M-Pesa in Ethiopia, according to a Reuters report that cited people familiar with the talks.
The report said the Ethiopian government is holding advanced discussions with Safaricom to move the process forward. Under the proposed structure, Vodafone would license the M-Pesa brand to an Ethiopian-based bank, while Safaricom would host the servers in Nairobi.
Ethio Telecom, Ethiopia’s state telecommunications monopoly, would carry the service.
If the plan goes through, Ethiopia would become the 11th country to offer M-Pesa. The service already operates in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, Romania and India.
Safaricom had earlier said it wanted to expand across African markets, excluding South Africa, where it had previously failed and been replaced by Vodafone.
That expansion strategy was expected to be supported by the transfer of Vodafone’s 35 percent stake in Safaricom to South African subsidiary Vodacom.
Safaricom chief executive Bob Collymore said the move would help the company enter new markets and grow across Africa.
