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128,000,000

Aug 8 , 2026.

The number of registered mobile money accounts, alongside more than 57 million Telebirr subscribers and 9.6 trillion Br in digital transactions during 2024. The "Digital Ethiopia 2030" strategy document puts Ethiopia’s entire population at 130 million. Taken at face value, almost one mobile-money account for every Ethiopian, including infants and people without phones, despite persistent rural, literacy and connectivity gaps. However, one person may hold accounts with Telebirr, M-Pesa and other providers; dormant accounts remain counted; and multiple SIMs can generate multiple registrations. According to the National Bank of Ethiopia's (NBE) data released in March 2025, only about 46pc of adults had access to formal financial services by the end of 2023.


PUBLISHED ON Aug 08,2026 [ VOL 27 , NO 1371]

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