Unrestricted prospects in digital financial services will soon be available thanks to a new bill for foreign investors and international businesses. Following a promise made by federal officials last year to open up the market to foreign investors, the draft proclamation was passed by the council of ministers last week. This action will make it possible for the telecom company Safaricom to obtain a mobile money license from the central bank.
The bill stipulates that the M-Pesa owner must pay the license charge in dollars. Only foreign direct investment in an accepted foreign currency is permitted for foreign nationals and Ethiopian organizations wholly controlled by foreign nationals to invest in a business that issues payment instruments or operates a payment system, according to the bill.
The bill is introduced two years after the central bank issued directives to control how payment system operators and instrument issuers must conduct their business. Since then, licenses have been granted to three businesses: SunPay, ArifPay, and the state-owned Ethio telecom. Among the group, Kacha was the most recent to be granted a license.
