https://www.businessdail...-pesa-expansion-3794202

Ethiopia has started changing its national payments law to clear the way for Safaricom to introduce its popular M-Pesa in the market of 110 million people.

Ethiopia’s central bank has drafted a Bill that will allow foreign investors to offer mobile money services, boosting firms such as Safaricom that are seeking to start operations in the country this year.
The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) now seeks to remove the remaining legal hurdle for Safaricom through the Bill that was made public last week.

“So far, there is no law that enables foreign operators like M-Pesa to acquire a licence in Ethiopia. If the new amendment is approved, it will allow M-Pesa to get a licence in Ethiopia,” Marta Hailemariam, the head of payment settlement at NBE, told the Ethiopian press.
The State-backed Bill states: “Foreign nationals may be allowed to invest in a payment instrument issuer or a payment system operator business; or establish a subsidiary which shall be licensed as a payment instrument issuer or payment system operator.”

Why did they not just make it 0.76 to get back to the pre-covid level of 1.4 Why hold on to that 1 cent!
The optics would have been better, at a small price.

1.4 divided by 1.74 is still 80%
They would still have been within their dividend policy

Good money that can be invested in Ethiopia to bring higher returns in the coming years.

Jitters about the Ethiopia venture.
It's progressing slowly and they are to give a date when commercial operations will begin