Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has paid tribute to Safaricom for connecting millions of Ethiopians through its telecom network and M-Pesa mobile money platform.

Speaking on Kenya’s 63 rd Mashujaa Day celebrations at Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, Abiy said the company has “connected millions of Ethiopians. Today, M-Pesa helps people send and pay”.

Safaricom started operations in Ethiopia in October 2022 after being granted a licence to operate in 2021 as the country’s first private telecommunications company. The company recorded a jump in customers as of September 2026, with over 15 million customers using its services in the past 90 days, and a network of more than 3,500 sites that cover about 60% of the population. It is important to note that the 15 million customers are for the telecom services and not M-Pesa.

In its FY2026 report for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, Safaricom mentioned that it had over 5.2 million M-Pesa customers in Ethiopia as of the 2026 fiscal year, representing an increase of over 100% compared to the previous 2025 fiscal year. Safaricom’s revenue grew by 130.9% year-on-year to 15.9 billion Ethiopian birr, driven by mobile money and data services.

The growth in Ethiopia comes as the company diversifies its focus away from its home market of Kenya, where M-Pesa has been used to send and request money, pay merchants, and make other payments.

Success in Ethiopia would be determined by a combination of factors, including the rate of customer acquisition, network expansion, competition from other telecoms and payment platforms, and the regulatory environment in the telecommunications sector and mobile money space.

Abiy participated in the day’s events alongside Kenyan President William Ruto, calling for more economic cooperation between Kenya and Ethiopia in his speech.

“We rise as rivals. We build as partners. In Ethiopia, we call this spirit Madama. It means synergy,” he said.

The two nations have positioned themselves to increase collaboration in key sectors such as trade, energy, and infrastructure, which will create opportunities for businesses and investment on both sides.

The Prime Minister’s comments on Safaricom’s role in promoting Ethiopia’s digital services sector come as the company invests in expanding its network and customer base in the country, competing for a larger slice of the telecom and mobile money market beyond its presence in Kenya.