ArifPay Fires Own Digital Payment Service

Dec 17 , 2022


A fintech company launched last week, a month after securing licenses from the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE). Arifpay Financial Technologies has been operational as a digital payment service operator in partnership with Abay Bank and the Information Network Security Agency (INSA). It provides digital payment services for utility bills, airtime top-up e-commerce, and school fees on smartphones, Point Of Sale (POS) and QR payment terminals. The company was incorporated two years ago with 140 million Br capital, raised from 40 shareholders. Bernard Laurendeau, CEO of Arifpay, expressed the ambition to reach the unbanked 75pc population characterised by low deposit mobilisation that translates into minimal loan provisions. At the launching event held at Sheraton Addis, Belete Mola, minister for Innovation & Technology; Nigusu Tilahun, state minister for Labour & Skills; Yilebes Addis, CEO of EthSwitch, and representatives from the central bank, discussed how the service would help ensure the federal government’s digital strategy. Nigusu said that the Ministry has partnered with Arifpay to reduce unemployment in the next three years, creating job opportunities for 14 million people. “There are two million job seekers annually,” he said. ArifPay signed a partnership agreement with Abay Bank two years ago to implement a mobile POS system and INSA to provide an app-based bill payment platform with the moniker Derash.


Radar

Tech Ministry Falters as Audits Expose Mismanagement, Unmet Ambitions

The Ministry of Innovation & Technology is under scrutiny after an audit revealed lapses in project management and financial oversight. This raised questions about governance standards within a Ministry central to the country's tech-driven growth ambitions. According to the Federal Auditor General, the Ministry has completed only 11pc of its planned projects with its overall financial administration standing at 37.4pc for a year-long project that commenced in 2022. Budget mismanagement an...


Radar

Central Bank Keeps Lending Lid Tight as Inflation Squeezes Economy

The Central Bank has reaffirmed its decision to maintain an 18pc cap on credit growth, reinforcing a commitment to tighter monetary policy during persistent inflation and economic uncertainty. The National Bank of Ethiopia's (NBE) monetary policy committee cited ongoing concerns over inflation, which stood at 19.9pc year-on-year (YoY), and liquidity imbalances as reasons to uphold the restriction on lending. Bankers and analysts interpret this move as evidence of regulators' determination to...


Radar

Ethio Telecom Expands Services with DStv Streaming

Ethio telecom enters the entertainment pool with bundled DStv streaming services through high-speed broadband internet and mobile data packages. The partnership with MultiChoice Ethiopia aspires to merge the telecom's fiber broadband and mobile network with DStv's content. Subscribers can access DStv channels through mobile data or fiber broadband bundles, with discounts of up to 35pc through Telebirr or My Ethiotel (*999#) and up to 26.5pc at sales centers for fiber broadband bundles. Acc...