Ethiopia Market Scoping Report
Ethiopia Market Scoping Report
Ethiopia Market Scoping Report
Margarete Biallas
John Ngahu
ETHIOPIA SUMMARY - PAGE 1
MOBILE MONEY SOLUTIONS Currently 2 mobile money solutions offered;
1 Bank offering, and 1 offered by a 3rd party
processor.
POPULATION 102.4 million
MOBILE PENETRATION 33.8 million unique mobile subscribers
(33% of population)
BANKED POPULATION 22% through financial institutions, 22%
overall, 0.03% through mobile accounts
[Source: World Bank FINDEX]
PERCENT UNDER POVERTY LINE 29.6% (2014) [Source: CIA]
ECONOMICALLY ACTIVE POPULATION 49.3 million (2015) [Source: CIA]
ADULT LITERACY 49.1% (2015) [Source: CIA]
MOBILE NETWORK OPERATORS Ethio Telecom 100% market share
Market Readiness
Regulation 3
Financial Sector 2
Telecom Sector 1
Distribution 1
Market Demand 4
ETHIOPIA SUMMARY - PAGE 2
ACTIVE MOBILE MONEY IMPLEMENTATIONS
M-Birr – Launched in September 2015 Ireland-based MOSS ICT in partnership with the 5
largest MFIs in Ethiopia; Amhara Credit and Savings Institution (ACSI), Dedebit Credit and
Savings S.C. (DECSI), Oromia Credit and Savings S.C. (OCSSCO), Omo Micofinance S.C.
(OMO), and Addis Credit and Savings Institution (ADCSI), with 100+ agents each and who,
collectively, account for 95% of the MFI business in Ethiopia
helloCash – Offered by Netherlands-based BelCash in partnership with 3 large banks; Lion
International Bank (LIB) with 1255 locations, Somali Micro Finance Institution (SMFI) with
487 locations, and Cooperative Bank of Oromia with 1,984 locations.
Regulations
Financial Sector
Telecom Sector
Other Sectors
Mobile Financial Services Landscape
MOBILE BANKING MARKET POTENTIAL
Key Country Statistics Insights
Population: 102.4 million1 With an already large and young population,
Age distribution: 44% (0-14 years), 20% (15 -24 Ethiopia has the 9th highest population growth
years), 29% (25-54 years), 4% (55-64 years), 3% rate in the world – estimated at 2.88% in 2016.1
(over 65 years)1 Financial literacy is likely to be constrained
Median age: 17.81 relatively low literacy levels, especially among
GDP (PPP): $161.6billion (2015)1 women, short school life expectancy (7\8 years)
GDP per Capita (PPP): $1,800 (2015)1 and a significant share of children ages 5-14
Urban/Rural split: 19.5 % of population lives in engaged in work (53%).1
urban areas (2015)1 According to ITU data, Ethiopia’s mobile
Population below poverty line: 29.6% (2014)1 penetration rate (31% in 2014) is among the
Literacy Rate (age 15 and over): 49.1% total, lowest in the region (73%, on average) and the
57.2% male and 41.1% female (2015)1 world, but has increased dramatically from 22%
Account Penetration: 21.8% all transaction just 2 years prior.4
accounts, 21.8% account with financial institution,
Significant room for growth in the mobile money
0.02% mobile account2
Net Recipient of Remittances: Outflows $22 market, given the small scale accomplished by
million (2012), Inflows $624 million (2014) existing offerings thus far, and the limited
[Source: World Bank] competition in the sector at this stage.
Labour force: 49.3 million (2015)1 However, the high percentage of population living
Mobile Penetration3 in rural areas (>80%) and the low penetration of
All subscribers 46% 3G coverage (<20%), will present challenges.
Unique subscribers ONLY 33%
Internet penetration: 18.7%1
1 Data as at 2016, unless otherwise indicated. Source: CIA World Fact Book, accessed October 20, 2016.
2 Data as at 2014, unless otherwise indicated. Source: World Bank FINDEX, accessed October 20, 2016.
3 Data as at Q3 2016, unless otherwise indicated. Source: GSMA Intelligence.
4 The politics behind mobile money in Ethiopia (Center For Financial Inclusion Blog, July 29, 2015)
Macro-economic Overview
Regulations
Financial Sector
Telecom Sector
Other Sectors
Mobile Financial Services Landscape
REGULATORY BODIES INVOLVED IN MOBILE BANKING
Roles & Responsibilities Implications
• NBE licenses, regulates and oversees • Regulation of Mobile and Agent Banking
banks, MFIs, remittances and insurers, but Services Directives No. FIS/01/2012, came
not Payment Service Providers (PSPs), into force on Jan 1, 2013 and applies to both
which are presently recognized as value Banks and MFIs, who are treated equally1
National Bank of added services (VAS) by the ICT Ministry • Circular No. BSD/06/2013 required all FIs
• The Payment and Settlement Systems previously authorized to provide mobile and
Ethiopia (NBE) Directorate is one of 6 departments directly agent banking to reapply under the new
under the Governor5 regulations2
• Legal framework consists of a regulation • Circular No. FIS/01/2014 sought to clarify
governing mobile and agent banking, along the relationships between FIs and Third
with related several circulars Parties, including Technology Service
Providers (TSPs)3
• MCIT’s mission is to mission to develop, • Circular No. FIS/02/2014, prohibited FIs
deploy and use ICT to improve the livelihood from offering mobile top up, as it is not a
of every Ethiopian and optimize its financial service4
Ministry of contribution to development of the country • To be a mobile money agent of an FI, or
Communications • The National ICT Policy and Strategy partner with an FI to offer mobile money,
and Information acknowledges that the regulatory framework MNOs would require the approval of the
Technology for the telecommunication sector is Telecom regulator [Article 9.2.1]1
inadequate6 • NBE does not nor has any desire to license
(MCIT) • MCIT is responsible for regulating and and supervise PSPs.
supervising the 3 PSPs – M-BIRR, Belcash
and Kifiya, which are considered VAS7
1 Regulation of Mobile and Agent Banking Services Directives No. FIS/01/2012 (National Bank of Ethiopia, 2012)
2 NBE Circular No. BSD/06/2013 (National Bank of Ethiopia, 2013)
3 NBE Circular No. FIS/01/2014 (National Bank of Ethiopia, 2014)
4 NBE Circular No. FIS/02/2014 (National Bank of Ethiopia, 2014)
5 Organizational Chart, National Bank of Ethiopia website, accessed October 24, 2016.
6 National ICT Policy and Strategy. Source: MCIT website, accessed October 21, 2016.
7 Stakeholder Meetings (IFC, October 2016)
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, SLIDE 2
Current Regulations Implications
• Only FIs (banks and MFIs [Article 2.7]] • Market not open to all
licensed by the NBE are permitted to provide • MNOs and non-FIs must essentially
mobile banking services [Article 4.1], but they partner with a bank or MFI to offer
still require the approval of the NBE prior to mobile money in Ethiopia
starting operations [Article 6.1] • Cross-border mobile money is prohibited
Financial • Mobile and agent banking services are limited • FIs are required to report to NBE on activities
to the geographical boundaries of Ethiopia and provided by agents on a quarterly basis
Institutions (FIs)1
must be denominated in Ethiopian Birr [Article [Article 13,2]
4.2]
• FIs must own technology and data; if
outsourced, it must be transferred by way of
licensing to a local institution within 5 years.
• FIs may use agents [Article 4], defined as a • FIs are responsible for making sure that
person engaged in a commercial agents are able to carry out real time
business/activity and has been contracted transactions [Article 4.4.2]
by an FI to provide the services on its behalf • FIs must be able to uniquely identify each of
[Article 2.1] its agents [Article 4.4.5]
• Agents may open accounts (mobile money • All deposit, withdrawal, payment or transfer
Agents1 transactions must be in real time [Article
and traditional savings), perform KYC, cash
in/out, transfers and other payment services 4.4.2]
[Article 9.1.1] • Foreign entities, or entities partially owned
• All persons engaged in valid and lawful by foreign nationals, religious entities, NGOs
business may be an FI agent, but requires may not be agents for FIs [Article 9.2.6].
approval of relevant regulator [Article 9.2.1]
1 Regulation of Mobile and Agent Banking Services Directives No. FIS/01/2012 (National Bank of Ethiopia, 2012)
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, SLIDE 3
Current Regulations Implications
• Apart from indicating that agents are • No specific requirements for KYC for
permitted to perform KYC on behalf of FIs, mobile money, but all individuals must
mobile money regulations do not mention provide their full name, address,
specific KYC standards or training required government-issued identification number,
for agents and a passport-sized photograph when
KYC/AML • NBE has established daily balance (Birr purchasing a SIM card, or signing up for
25,000) and transaction limits (Birr 6,000) services at EthioTelecom or an authorized
[Article 5.1 and 5.2] reseller
1 Regulation of Mobile and Agent Banking Services Directives No. FIS/01/2012 (National Bank of Ethiopia, 2012)
Macro-economic Overview
Regulations
Financial Sector
Telecom Sector
Other Sectors
Mobile Financial Services Landscape
FINANCIAL INCLUSION – ACCESS AND USAGE
Access Ownership/Usage Key Insights
• Penetration of financial access • Rates of ownership among • Unlike many African
points (per 100,000 adults)1 Ethiopian adults (age 15+) 3 economies, ownership and
• commercial bank • Account 21.8% usage of mobile-enabled
branches 4.1 • Mobile account 21.8% financial services is dismally
• ATMs 5.3 • FI account 0.03% low in Ethiopia
• There is no national ID in • Debit cards (0.75%) are more • The most significant
Ethiopia, but all regions and 2 common than credit cards determinants for account
administrative states each (0.38%); both are rarely used3 ownership are income (16%
have a regional ID card, which • Of those who saved in the last for poorest 40%, vs 26% for
is distributed at the sub- year, only 14% used financial riches 60%), education (37%
regional level at Kebeles – institutions, while a larger among those with secondary
neighborhood centers – and it share (30%) used a savings education or more, vs 19% for
is unclear what percentage of club or person outside the those with primary or less)
the population has them.2 family.3 and age (14% for those age
15-24, vs 26% for those age
25 and older). Gender was not
a significant factor.3
1 Data as at 2014. Source: World Development Indicators (World Bank, 2016). Accessed on September 26, 2016
http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators
2 Review of National Identity Programs (Evans School Public Policy Analysis and Research (EPAR),2015)
3 Data as at 2014. Source: Global Findex (World Bank, 2014)
FINANCIAL SYSTEM OVERVIEW
Ethiopia’s financial sector is bank-dominated, 100% locally owned, with significant
state-ownership
BANKS MICRO FINANCE INSTITUTIONS (MFIs)
According to the Proclamation to Provide for Banking According to the Micro Finance Business
Business No. 592/2008, the NBE defines banking Proclamation No. 626/2009, the main purpose of
business as receiving funds from the public, and using MFIs is to collect deposits from and extend credit to
those funds for the purposes of making loans, rural and urban farmers and people engaged in
investments, buying and/or selling of gold, silver and other similar activities, as well as MSMEs.
foreign exchange, transferring funds to other local and There are 32 Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in
foreign banks on behalf of bank itself or its customers, Ethiopia, who collectively hold 6% of all financial
etc. sector assets. The 5 largest MFIs are also state-
The Banking System consists of 16 private banks and owned.
2 government-owned banks1 – some of which service MFIs have a total of here are a total of 317
particular segments of the population such as women branches and 568 sub-branches. The MFIs with the
(Enat Bank). largest networks are:
Ethiopia nationalized private banks and other financial Dedebit (18 branches, 180 sub-branches)
institutions in 1974, but the banking sector remains Oromia (194 branches)
small and dominated by the government with state- Omo (14 branches and 147 sub-branches)
owned banks. The 5 largest banks, which are all state- The NBE published the Risk Management
owned, account for 90% of all banking assets and just Guidelines for MFIs (September 2010).
one - Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) – owns 70% In addition there are 18.000 SACCOs nationwide,
of deposits. representing 3.8 million active savers, which NBE
There are 2,693 commercial bank branches across the would like to leverage for financial inclusion.
country – up from 2,208 in 20152 – and approximately
1,500 ATMs.3 The banks with the largest branch INSURANCE COMPANIES
network are;1 There are 17 insurance companies licensed to operate
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) in Ethiopia, 1 of which is government owned.
Awash International Bank They account for 4% of financial sector assets.
1 List of licensed banks in Ethiopia, National Bank of Ethiopia website, accessed October 20,2016
2 Ethiopia: Mobile money schemes, helloCash and M-Birr launched (The Africa Report, February 5, 2015)
3 Ethiopia launches mobile money to extend banking reach (Reuters, February 4, 2015)
4 IFC Meetings, October 2016.
FINANCIAL SYSTEM OVERVIEW – ADDITIONAL PLAYERS
SWITCHING, CLEARING & SETTLEMENT
National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE’s) 2009 National Payment Systems Strategy requires that all banks
use centralized online real-time & electronic (CORE) banking solutions, which interface with the
Central Bank and clear settlements between them, without the necessity of any physical presence
and has three parts;
Development of an RTGS
Development of an ACH
Introduction of a national switch
Ethiopian automated transfer system (EATS) was launched by the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) in
May 2011. EATS is comprised of 2 systems;
the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), for low volume high value transactions
the Automated Clearing House (ACH), for high volume low value transactions
There is strong emphasis on financial inclusion and digitization3
With the support of the World Bank, NBE is in the process of developing a National Financial
Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) which includes RTGS, ACH, a switch, which have all been
implemented, and a security depository, which is still outstanding. Digitization is a key
element of the NFIS.
The government’s Growth and Transformation Plan (GTPII) includes a mandate for banks to
increase their branch network by 30% each year over the next five years as well as develop
agents (50 per branch) in the GTP2.
Commercial Total assets: 244,128 • Branches: 1,140 • Wholly owned by the Government of the Federal
Bank of millions 384.6 billion (2016) • ATMs:6 1,500 Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
Total liabilities: 233,036 • POSs:6 8,000 • There are no shares and no par value.
Ethiopia (CBE)1 millions • Agents:6 12,000
Total assets:
• Branches: 1
4,874,340,646
Zemen Bank4 Total liabilities:
• ATMs:6 60
• POSs:6 0
4,109,483,732
• Branches:6 161
• ATMs:6 70
United Bank5 No information available.
• POSs:6 200
• Agents: 240
1 Source: CBE website, unless otherwise indicated. 1a Data as of June 2016. Total Assets and Liabilities data Note: A selection of banks. Full list of banks
are as at 2014 and are from 2013/2014 Annual Report operating in Ethiopia available on NBE website.
2 Data as of June 30, 2015. Source: Wagagen Annual Report 2015-2015 and Wagagen website.
3 Data as of June 30, 2015. Source: DASHEN BANK Balance Sheet as at June 30 2015 and Dashen Bank
website.
4 Data as of June 30, 2015. Source: Zemen Bank Annual Report 2015
5 United Bank website, unless otherwise indicated.
6 Stakeholder Meetings (IFC, October 2016).
BANKING SECTOR: SNAPSHOT Amounts are in ETB unless otherwise stated
Exchange rate: 22.37 ETB to USD 1.00
1 Data as of June 30, 2015. Source: Bank of Abyssinia Annual Report and BoA website. Note: A selection of banks. Full list of banks operating in
2 Source: Stakeholder Meetings (IFC, October 2016). Ethiopia available on NBE website.
CURRENT CHALLENGES TO THE BANKING SECTOR
GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP
2 of the 18 banks in Ethiopia are government owned
Of greater concern is the dominance of these government owned banks. For example:
The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia—the largest bank in the country whose assets
represent about 70% of the sector—accounts for 70% of total deposits and 55% of loans
and advances.1
The Development Bank of Ethiopia and the Construction and Business Bank of Ethiopia
together account for 15.6% of the total capital of Ethiopian banking sector.1
1 Data as at 2014. Source: 4th Economic Update: Ethiopia (The World Bank Group, July 2015).
MICROFINANCE SECTOR Amounts are in ETB unless otherwise stated
Exchange rate: 22.37 ETB to USD 1.00
Omo Microfinance Institution (OMFI)3 Does not have a website. Facebook page
OCSSCO website
4 Data as at 2008. Source: Who’s Who in Microfinance (Microcapital.org, February 2,
2010)
MFI ACTIVITY IN DIGITAL FINANCIAL SERVICES
AMHARA CREDIT AND SAVING INSTITUTION (ACSI)
One of 4 founding members of the Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institutions (AEMFI),
which was established in June 1999.
1 Ethiopian banks attain ATM, POS interoperability with SmartVisa (ATM marketplace, May 12, 2016)
2 Eth-Switch contracts IT Vendor (Addis Fortune, March 30, 2014)
GOVERNMENT PAYMENTS – IN AND OUT
The Government of Ethiopia, under the auspices of the Ministry of
Communication and Information Technology (MCIT), has embarked on an
ambitious e-Government Plan1
e-Government aims to enable 211 e-services (77 informational and 134
transactional) over a 5 year period to be delivered through 4 channels
(Portal, Call center, Mobile devises, Common Service Centers).
The approach to implementation is divided into 2 priority projects, and
strengthened through 6 core projects, one of which is the National
Payment Gateway, the aim of which is to enable all modes of electronic
payments (card-based, direct debit, eWallet, eBanking etc). Some
examples include; G2C transactions (Pension Services, specifically
pension payment), C2G payments (online/electronic tax payments).
Thus far, the project has been implemented in 29 federal ministries,
agencies, and authorities, as well as 6 entities at the regional level, all in
Addis Ababa City.2
1 Data as at 2013. Source: Migration Profiles (United Nations, DESA-Population Division and UNICEF).
2 Data as at 2012 for outflows and 2015 for inflows. Source: World Bank Remittance Inflows by Country,
updated April 2016.
3 Data as at June 2016. Source: World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide.
4 Data as at 2015. Source: World Bank Bilateral Remittance Matrix, 2016
Macro-economic Overview
Regulations
Financial Sector
Telecom Sector
Other Sectors
Mobile Financial Services Landscape
TELCOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR IN ETHIOPIA (1/4)
Key Statistics and Trends1 Internet and Data1
Indicators Q4 2015 Q1 2016 Q2 2016 Q3 2016 Y/Y∆
Ethio Telecom has a Mobile Internet 16,187,98
monopoly in Ethiopia 15,195,008 17,183,588 19,186,592 +11.7%
Subscribers 3
Mobile connections: 46.7
million (98% prepaid)2 % >2G 19.3% 18.4% 17.5% 16.6% +0.3%
Unique mobile
subscribers: 33.8million % >3G, + 4G 80.7% 81.6% 82.5% 83.4% +7.0%
unique subscribers1
Mobile penetration:
Mobile Telephony1
ALL 46% Indicators Q4 2015 Q1 2016 Q2 2016 Q3 2016 Y/Y∆
Unique 33% Unique Mobile
31,045,704 31,999,887 32,915,019 33,797,419 +2.7%
Market coverage Subscribers
(Percentage of Penetration
30.9% 31.6% 32.3% 33.0% +2.2%
population) (Unique ONLY)
3G: 17.54% Penetration (ALL
41.9% 43.2% 44.4% 45.6% +2.7%
4G: 14.93% connections)
A larger share of internet SIMS per Unique
1.17 1.17 1.18 1.18 0%
Subscriber
subscribers have access
to data 3G or higher Smartphones
4,788,094 5,618,228 6,505,936 7,442,500 +14.4%
(%)
The number of
Smartphones grew 85%
in the last year (Q3 2015
to Q3 2016)
1Data as at Q3 2016, unless otherwise indicated. Source: GSMA Intelligence.
2Ethiopia Telecom estimates that there are 2 million smartphones on the market, but this is an educated
guesst. Source: Stakeholder Meetings (IFC, October 2016).
TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR IN ETHIOPIA (2/4)1
The reform of the communications sector led to a separation between regulatory and
operational functions and resulted in the establishment of 2 entities;
A regulatory entity – the now defunct Ethiopian Telecommunications Agency (ETA),
which regulated the sector from 1997 to 2010 and was the founding member of the
Association of Regulators of Information and Communication for Eastern and
Southern Africa (ARICEA) – established by Proclamation 49/1996, and
A commercial entity – Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) –
established by Regulation 10/1996
In 2010, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) was
established by Proclamation 691/2010, combining 3 key functions into a single entity:
aspects relating to communications handled by the former Ministry of Transport and
Communications
regulatory powers of the ETA
implementation activities of the Ethiopian ICT Development Agency
The mandates of the MCIT, whose mission to develop, deploy and use ICT to improve
the livelihood of every Ethiopian and optimize its contribution to the development of the
country, include;
Implement ICT policy
Monitor and evaluate implementation of ICT projects and programs
Develop frameworks for the development of ICT in various economic sectors,
including Agriculture, Industry, Commerce, Education, Health, etc,
Formulate programs to guide ICT development
1 Source: MCIT website, accessed October 21, 2016.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR IN ETHIOPIA (3/4)1
The 2009 National ICT Policy and Strategy identifies 5 key indicators of the low level of
development of ICT in Ethiopia;2
Absence of appropriate legal and regulatory frameworks
Limitations in telecom infrastructure and low level of Internet services penetration
Lack of organized data and information resources, and poor access to those that
exist
Lack of skilled human resources coupled with low ICT literacy
Underdeveloped private sector
The Ethiopian government, through Ethio telecom, often imposes nationwide, politically
motivated internet filtering. Under a 2012 law regulating the telecommunication industry,
attempts by journalists to circumvent Ethio telecom surveillance and censorship of the
internet could be interpreted as a criminal offense carrying a prison sentence of up to 15
years.3
When purchasing a SIM card, or signing up for services at EthioTelecom or an
authorized reseller, individuals must provide their full name, address, government-issued
identification number, and a passport-sized photograph. According to some reports, the
government has used the SIM registration database to cut off the SIM cards of certain
individuals, or prevent them from being able to register a phone in their name.4
1 Ethiopia Takes Initiatives to Utilize Space Technology Advantages (allAfrica, October 6, 2016), accessed October
24, 2016.
2 Budde.com, accessed October 24, 2016.
MOBILE NETWORK OPERATORS Source1
• Ethio Telecom is targeting 80% subscription rate in 5 years and has invested heavily (USD 3 billion over the past 2
years) to replace and build out its network6 and recently purchased Helios Advanced tracking systems to be installed in
their fleet (from Starcom Systems African distributor, Global Tracking Technology Plc).3
• Ethio Telecom might be considering to expansion to other East African countries 4 and recently partnered with CMC
Networks - a Global Telecommunications Carrier, headquartered out of Johannesburg and Mauritius, which has the
largest Pan African network spanning across 50 countries.5
• Airtime sales are done through scratch cards and e-top up through select companies such as Kifiya, and very briefly
through banks, mainly via their ATMs, until that was prohibited by NBE. Sales through ATMs earned no commission,
while distributors earn 8% commission, which is then shared with the retailers (5% distributor, 3% retailer).
• For sim and airtime sales, ET has a large distribution network (214 direct distributors, 50 mega distributors, for a total
of 100,000 outlets) ET would prefer to have a choice of distribution channels, including banks. 2
• ET is interested in entering the mobile financial services market with a view to increasing network traffic, but is unable
to do so due to NBE restrictions on non-FI activities in this space. Until then, this will be done through partnerships:
• NBE is exploring the option to partner with another FI (Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, CBE) to launch a join
solution and would consider making the platform available to other banks also.
• Ethio Telecom recently signed an agreement with two global companies (Credos and Hicma – local providers
with international backing)6 to introduce mobile credit services for its clients, which will facilitate granting short
term credit for the purposes of buying airtime in advance and paying later.2 The key challenge will lie in
ensuring data privacy and consumer consent. They prefer an opt-in/out model.6
• ET provides fair and equal access to DSL, USSD and short codes for banks, whom are all considered VIP
customers
1 Unless otherwise indicated, data as at Q3 2016. Source: GSMA Intelligence.
2 Ethiopia: Ethio Telecom Outsources Credit Card Services (allAfrica, September 13, 2016).
3 Update on Distribution Order (London South East (LSE), September 30, 2016).
4 Ethiopia: Ethio Telecom Aims Eastern African Markets (2merkato.com. August 2, 2016).
5 CMC Networks announces partnership and interconnect with Etho Telecom (PR newswire, July 27, 2016).
6 Stakeholder Meetings (IFC, October 2016).
Macro-economic Overview
Regulations
Financial Sector
Telecom Sector
Other Sectors
EthioTelecom Branch or Agent (1,800 total) Agents of partner banks (at least 2,000
Cash In/Out
(PIN required for all transactions) locations)
Link with Bank
Yes Yes, LIB, CBO and SMFI
account
Access to Credit No No
Payroll No No
P2P Payments Yes, including other M-BIRR customers and
Yes
(Domestic) unregistered users
P2P Payments
No, prohibited by law No, prohibited by law
(International)
Yes, pay for electricity (TOTAL), transportation
P2B Payments (Zayride), TV subscriptions (DSTV), online Yes
shopping (Ethio-Souq), online adds (Mekina)
Mobile Top-Up No, prohibited by law Yes