Safaricom’s mobile money rollout in Ethiopia marks moment for ‘last frontier’

Safaricom, Kenya’s biggest telecoms operator, is finally launching its pioneering mobile money service in Ethiopia, Africa’s second-largest country by population and one hailed as “the last frontier” for digital banking.

M-Pesa, which allows people to store and send money by phone, has been credited with bringing tens of millions of unbanked Kenyans into the financial system and supporting one of Africa’s most sophisticated telecoms sectors.