Issue 46: Mobile Money Accounts Surge in Ethiopia

Hello, According to a report from the National Bank of Ethiopia, there is a surge in mobile money users in the country, doubling from the year before. Meanwhile, another development in Ethiopia's innovative ecosystem saw the draft Ethiopian Digital Identification Proclamation moving a step closer to entering effect.Here are the major stories from last week recapped for you.If you are here because someone forwarded you this email, you can subscribe here to get future newsletters.

Mobile Money Users Surge in Ethiopia

According to a report from the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), there are 43.3 mobile money wallets in the country.The figure has more than doubled in a span of a year, and Ethio Telecom’s telebirr accounts for almost half of the accounts, with 22 million subscribers. Commercial bank of Ethiopia’s CBE Birr is the second biggest player with 5.38 million users. Other Digital banking channels have also grown and there are 16.3 million mobile banking users, 30.7 million debit cards, 6,902 ATMs, and 11,760 POS machines in the country. 

Finnish-Ethiopian Startup Launches Recruitment SoftwareA Finnish-Ethiopian startup has entered Ethiopia’s job market with an online requirement software called Fairway.The tech startup aims to provide a smooth, quick, and cost-effective recruitment process and brings new features to Ethiopia’s existing job portals in the market. Read More.

Kifiya Scales up Insurtech Product for FarmersKifiya Financial Technology, along with Oromia Insurance Company and Agriculture Transformation Institute (ATI), has scaled up their micro-insurance product that protects farmers from shocks caused by drought.The product, Vegetation Index Crop Insurance (VICI), will provide micro-insurance to 50,000 smallholder farmers in Oromia and Southern National and Nationalities Regional (SNNP) States to enhance their climate resilience. Read More.

Digital ID Law Edges Closer to Taking EffectThe draft Ethiopian Digital Identification Proclamation, which aims to provide a robust and reliable digital identification, has moved a step closer to being passed into law as the Council of Ministers unanimously approved it last week.The bill, which recognizes digital IDs as a vital enabler of the digital economy, is now on the tables of parliament, whose final approval marks the entry of Ethiopia’s first digital ID law into force. 

A peek into Ethio Telecom's data and internet reach over the past years.

New Healthtech Startup Launches App-based PharmacyMedhanite, an app-based pharmacy service for finding medications in Addis Ababa, launched its platform in July 2022.Medhanite, which checks the availability of medicines in pharmacies and shares details on how to get there, aims to solve the difficulties of finding medications in the country. Read More.

Machine Translation Startup Lesan Partners with Timinit’s DAIRMachine Translation Startup Lesan has partnered with the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR) to study and develop open-source natural language processing tools for Ge’ez-based languages in social media settings. Read More.

Introducing Gofere, the Leading Sportswear Brand Made in EthiopiaGofere Sports is an Ethiopian-based sports brand that supplies a range of apparel to professional and amateur sports clubs.Gofere is behind the official kits of 15 of the 16 clubs that play in Ethiopia’s premier league. This brand has not only dominated Ethiopia’s market but is also the kit supplier for several clubs in East Africa. Read More.

Here is what we've been reading:

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