Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) Leading global 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, that brought together key stakeholders from the digital payments industry to discuss opportunities that exist to develop the payments ecosystem in the country.
The partnerships announced are:
– Partnership agreement with Ethiopian Airlines to launch a co-branded card to ShebaMiles members across the Continent.
– An agreement and implementation with Bank of Abyssinia and Dashen Bank/Moneta (Amole) Technologies focused on supporting eCommerce growth and helping more online businesses accept digital payments.
– Partnership with Kifiya Financial Technology, providing local digital payments across mobile and online payments.
– Partnership with BelCash Technologies that will support the development of cross-border payment solutions for the East-African financial institutions and helping grow eCommerce to unlock the country’s digital potential.
– Licensing partnership with Cooperative bank & Oromia International Bank.
In addition to partnerships, Visa has undertaken two initiatives to drive financial inclusion and job creation within Ethiopia with STEMPower and the Visa Everywhere Initiative in Ethiopia, an initiative aimed at supporting the development of innovative fintechs.
“At Visa, we are extremely pleased to have a local presence in one of the most exciting countries in Africa. I am happy to announce that we have worked with our partners in market towards enabling digital commerce. We’re are excited to support the goals of the Ethiopian economy, where financial inclusion will play an important part in enabling the overall growth journey. We see great opportunity here and are committed to playing our part in bringing more people into the financial system and supporting economic progress,” said Aida Diarra, Senior Vice President & Head of Visa in 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.
“Fast tracking digitization of transactions has multiple benefits for Ethiopians. Enhanced digital infrastructure enables support to local people and small businesses to manage their cash flows with nimbleness, accuracy, efficiency, and transparency. Digitizing payments also drives economic inclusion, which is paramount to sustained economic growth, added Diarra.