Paga Group approved by Ethiopia as “African Paypal” expands further
The payment gateway’s first market was Nigeria, where it now has over 18 million unique users.
Paga Group has partnered with the Bank of Abyssinia amid regulatory approval from the National Bank of Ethiopia to launch its online payment gateway in Ethiopia.
The mobile payments and financial services company has thus entered the Ethiopian market in a time when the FX industry looks to expand brokerage solutions across the African continent.
The partnership with the Bank of Abyssinia is both a milestone and a core, strategic development in Paga’s growth strategy, the firm announced, given its close to 700 branches and over five million customers.
First Nigeria, now Ethiopia
Paga will help drive the digital economy in Ethiopia as its online payment gateway enables merchants to pay and get paid online.
Adam Abate, CEO of Paga Ethiopia, commented: “Ethiopia is on the cusp of a digital transformation. Paga has a long history working in Ethiopia, and we are very excited for this next phase of our involvement in Ethiopia, where we can provide innovative payment and financial services to the market. We are equally excited to be partnering with the Bank of Abyssinia, which has demonstrated its commitment to and capabilities in driving Ethiopia’s digital economy forward. Combined with Paga’s innovation and technology, we believe our offering will be very exciting for Ethiopian consumers and businesses.”
Sosina Mengesha, Chief Digital Banking Officer of Bank of Abyssinia, said: “As one of the leading banks in Ethiopia, we always seek to work with best-in-class partners, and we have chosen such a partner in Paga. Their product innovation and commitment to financial inclusion stands out, and we are delighted to come together to empower their delivery of online payment gateway services to Ethiopian consumers.”
Paga partnered with Untapped Global for POS financing
The payments gateway has recently partnered with Untapped Global, an investment company focused on emerging markets. The program finances point-of-sale devices (POS) for merchants in Nigeria, the largest country in Africa, but still underserved when it comes to financial services.
Paga’s POS devices enable merchants to accept cards, mobile payments, and other forms of digital payments, and offer other value-add financial services to customers.
Lowering the cost of entry for using mobile payments is key to delivering the benefits of Africa’s growing fintech revolution to even the smallest businesses.
Paga is a payments and financial services ecosystem for Africa. Working similarly to Square and PayPal, Paga focuses on helping both consumers and sellers pay, get paid, and access financial services.
