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Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) The world’s leading payments technology company, Visa has affirmed its commitment to expanding digital payments in Ethiopia by working closely with the financial ecosystem to bring the benefits of digital payments to consumers, merchants, financial institutions and the government.
The company announced a series of partnerships in Ethiopia during an inaugural Visa Payments Forum held today, which brought together key stakeholders from the digital payments industry to discuss opportunities that exist to develop the payments ecosystem in the country.
The announced partnerships are:
– Partnership agreement with Ethiopian Airlines to launch a co-branded card for ShebaMiles members across the continent.
– An agreement and implementation with Bank of Abyssinia and Dashen Bank / Moneta (Amole) Technologies focused on supporting the growth of e-commerce and helping more online businesses accept digital payments.
– Partnership with Kifiya Financial Technology, which provides local digital payments through mobile and online payments.
– Partnership with BelCash Technologies that will support the development of cross-border payment solutions for East African financial institutions and help grow e-commerce to unlock the country’s digital potential.
– Licensing association with Cooperative Bank & Oromia International Bank.
In addition to partnerships, Visa has launched two initiatives to drive financial inclusion and job creation in Ethiopia with STEMPower and the Visa Everywhere Initiative in Ethiopia, an initiative aimed at supporting the development of innovative fintechs.
“At Visa, we are very happy to have a local presence in one of the most exciting countries in Africa. I am pleased to announce that we have worked with our partners in the market to enable digital commerce. We are excited to support the goals of the Ethiopian economy, where financial inclusion will play an important role in enabling the overall growth journey. We see great opportunity here and we are committed to playing our role in bringing more people into the financial system and supporting economic progress, ”said Aida Diarra, Visa’s Senior Vice President and Head of Sub-Saharan Africa.
As a sign of commitment to the digital transformation agenda, the Ethiopian government endorsed Ethiopia’s first Digital Transformation Strategy, in June 2020, followed by a series of regulations for its implementation, including the proclamation on Electronic Transactions.
“The rapid digitization of transactions has multiple benefits for Ethiopians. Enhanced digital infrastructure enables local people and small businesses to manage their cash flows with agility, precision, efficiency, and transparency. The digitization of payments also drives economic inclusion, which is critical for sustained economic growth, Diarra added.
