For decades, COBOL has quietly powered the backbone of the global economy. It runs an estimated 95% of ATM transactions in the United States. It processes airline bookings, government records, insurance claims, and retail payments. Hundreds of billions of lines of COBOL code are still running in production every single day. But there’s a problem:
Ethio telecom has inaugurated teleStream, a new internet-based content streaming platform, alongside a fully digital “Zero-Touch” system aimed at modernizing fixed broadband service delivery across Ethiopia. The launch forms part of the company’s broader “Next Horizon: Digital & Beyond 2028” strategy, which focuses on digital inclusion, job creation, and expanding Ethiopia’s footprint in the continental
In just nine months, Ethiopian AgriFinTech firm Kifiya has facilitated more than ETB 4.2 billion in uncollateralized digital loans to over 50,000 smallholder farmers, expanding access to formal finance across rural communities. The financing, deployed through partner banks using Kifiya’s AI-native risk infrastructure, marks the first-ever access to formal credit for the majority of participating
EthSwitch, Ethiopia’s leading provider of interoperable digital payment infrastructure, has announced impressive results from its mid-year operational and financial performance review for the first half of the 2025/26 financial year (July–December 2025). The review, held on January 29, 2026, at Haile Grand Hotel in Addis Ababa, highlights significant growth in Ethiopia’s digital payments sector, underscoring
Transactions conducted through Ethio Telecom’s Telebirr platform have surpassed 6.88 trillion birr since the service was launched, according to Ethio Telecom CEO Frehiwot Tamiru. Presenting the company’s 2018 fiscal year first-half performance, Frehiwot said Telebirr has delivered strong results, particularly in facilitating digital money transfers and supporting Ethiopia’s Digital Ethiopia agenda. During the first half
Ethiopia’s financial revolution is not loud. There are no viral founder stories, no overnight unicorns, no dramatic collapses that dominate headlines. Instead, something quieter and more consequential is happening beneath the surface, an invisible contest between old financial power and new digital ambition. On one side stand the banks: heavily regulated, deeply entrenched, and historically
M-PESA Ethiopia has reached 5 million 90-day active customers, marking a major milestone in the country’s fast-evolving digital financial services landscape and underscoring growing consumer trust in mobile money platforms. The company said platform activity has doubled over the past three months, driven largely by everyday transactions and the expansion of its merchant and payments
Ethio telecom has announced a moderate adjustment to its telecom tariffs, pointing to prevailing macroeconomic pressures and rising capital and operational costs, while reaffirming its commitment to affordability and digital inclusion. In a statement issued on today, the state-owned operator said that over the past six years it has implemented repeated and significant tariff reductions,
Ethiopost has signed a cooperation agreement with EthSwitch Share Company to jointly implement strategic initiatives aimed at strengthening digital payment and agency banking infrastructure. The agreement, signed during an official ceremony, focuses on the joint development of an Agent Network Management Application, a system expected to enhance the efficiency, reach, and coordination of agent-based financial
At Friendship Park in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s digital finance story entered a new era as EthSwitch officially unveiled EthioPay, a national brand set to redefine how money moves across the country. The launch, attended by senior government officials, financial sector leaders, and key ecosystem players, marked more than the introduction of a new name. It
When Ethiopia released its first national digital payments strategy in 2021, few predicted just how quickly the country would sprint into the digital age. Today, cash is disappearing from pockets, mobile money is exploding, and Ethiopia stands as one of Africa’s fastest-moving fintech frontiers. At the center of this transformation is Dr. Eyob Tekalign, Governor
Ethiopia has launched the draft National Digital Payment Strategy 2026–30 (NDPS 2.0), signaling a major milestone in the country’s digital finance transformation. The announcement was made today during the Ethiopian Digital Payment Conference 2.0, in the presence of top officials including Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh; National Bank of Ethiopia Governor Eyob Tekalign; AfCFTA Secretary