M-Pesa Ethiopia boosts services; Ethio Telecom announces growth

Details: Vaughan O'Grady; Category: Mobile Finance; 30 July 2026; 483 views

It’s been a busy week for Ethiopia’s second-biggest operator, which has introduced more new services via its M-Pesa mobile money service. However, its state-owned rival is also celebrating positive news, after announcing impressive customer and revenue growth figures.

M-Pesa Ethiopia, the mobile money service of operator Safaricom Ethiopia, has introduced a new prepaid electricity payment service that enables customers with Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) smart meter devices to purchase electricity directly through the M-Pesa Super App.

The new feature allows users to top up their prepaid electricity accounts without visiting physical service centres, though customers must first update their M-Pesa Super App to the latest version.

Putting into effect plans announced in March, M-Pesa Ethiopia has also introduced a new digital tax payment service for the Amhara Bureau of Revenue, enabling taxpayers in the Amhara Region to pay their taxes securely and conveniently, again through the M-Pesa Super App.

According to M-Pesa Ethiopia, the launch marks the first in a series of planned integrations with regional revenue authorities, as the mobile financial services provider expands access to digital government payment services across the country.

The initiative is designed to make tax payments more accessible during the tax season by offering a fast, secure and convenient digital channel.

All of which seems to indicate that having more than one operator in the country is benefiting consumers, though it seems to be good for the operators too: Ethio Telecom last week reported a 47.5% rise in earnings before interest and taxes driven by an increase in the number of its customers. Earnings for the year ended June rose to ETB92.9 billion (about US$576.6 million) from ETB63 billion (US$391 million).

In the same period Ethio reported that total revenue rose 33% to ETB215.8 billion (US$1.33 billion). It also said that the firm's total number of subscribers rose 8.3% to 90.12 million in the year under review, while subscribers to its financial service Telebirr rose by 16.40% to 60.6 million.

Whether this is a boost to ongoing government privatisation plans for the company is hard to say. An initial public offering last year sold only 10.7% of the shares offered, though some commentators felt the terms of the IPO may have put off investors.