telebirr

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Overview

telebirr is Ethiopia's largest mobile money service + state-owned Ethio Telecom's flagship mobile financial platform [1, 2, et-cro]. Mid-FY2025/26 baseline (fiscal year started July 2025): 58M+ customers + ~1.9 trillion birr half-year transaction value.

FY2024/25 full-year (ended June 2025) [3]: 54.84M users + 2.38 trillion birr in transactions.

telebirr historic dominance context [4]: Ethiopia's "digital playbook" with telebirr built strong domestic mobile-money dominance + effectively "boxed in" M-Pesa (Safaricom Ethiopia M-Pesa) — distinctive Ethio Telecom state-incumbent advantage.

Strategic projections [5]: telebirr expected to scale to 75M users + 21.3 trillion ETB transaction value by end of Ethio Telecom's new 3-year strategy (July 2025 to June 2028).

History

May 2021 — telebirr launched by Ethio Telecom as Ethiopia's first mobile money service.

2021-2024 — Mass Ethiopian adoption [1]: Expanded from zero to nearly 50M users by 2024.

February 13, 2025 — telebirr passes 50M subscribers [6] — Ethiopian Monitor coverage.

June 2025 (end FY2024/25) — 54.84M users + 2.38 trillion birr transactions [3].

Mid-FY2025/26 — 58M+ customers + ~1.9 trillion birr half-year transactions [1].

Ownership & operator

Operating entity: Ethio Telecom — state-owned Ethiopian telecommunications incumbent.

Major shareholders: Government of Ethiopia (state-owned; Ethiopian Investment Holdings sovereign wealth fund).

Regulators: NBE (National Bank of Ethiopia).

Technical integration

Layer	Description
Channels	telebirr SuperApp (iOS + Android) + USSD + agent network + Ethio Telecom retail outlets
Identifiers	Phone + Ethiopian ID
ET rail	[[ethswitch]] (Ethiopian national interbank switch)
License	Payment instrument issuer (PII; Ethio Telecom NBE license)
Sub-products	telebirr wallet + telebirr Pay + telebirr SuperApp + telebirr remittance + telebirr merchant + telebirr microcredit
State-incumbent advantage: Effectively "boxed in" M-Pesa per Kenyan Wall Street analysis

Users & growth

FY trajectory [1, 3, 5]:

May 2021: telebirr launched
Feb 2025: passed 50M subscribers (Ethiopian Monitor)
End FY2024/25 (June 2025): 54.84M users + 2.38 trillion birr transactions
Mid FY2025/26: 58M+ customers + ~1.9 trillion birr half-year transactions
Targets: 75M users + 21.3 trillion ETB transaction value by June 2028 (Ethio Telecom 3-year strategy)
Total transacted to date: 4.9 trillion birr (per 2025 figures)

Use cases

Ethiopian mobile money + remittance + bill payment + merchant payment via telebirr SuperApp + USSD + agent network; Ethio Telecom retail outlets; state-incumbent dominance via Ethiopia's first mobile-money service launched May 2021.

Implementations & partners

Operator: Ethio Telecom (state-owned).

Major shareholders: Government of Ethiopia (Ethiopian Investment Holdings sovereign wealth fund).

Major Ethiopian mobile money competitors:

[[m-pesa]] (Safaricom Ethiopia M-Pesa; entered ET 2023; effectively "boxed in" by telebirr state-incumbent advantage)
Hello Cash (HelloCash Ethiopia; bank-led mobile money)
CBE Birr (Commercial Bank of Ethiopia mobile money; competing state-bank-led product)
Amole (Dashen Bank mobile money; Ethiopian bank-led)
Mela (Bank of Abyssinia mobile money)

Regulator: NBE.

Fun facts

Ethiopia's largest mobile money service — state-owned Ethio Telecom flagship.
May 2021 launch — from zero to 58M+ users in ~5 years (distinctive state-incumbent rapid adoption).
End FY2024/25: 54.84M users + 2.38 trillion birr transactions.
Mid FY2025/26: 58M+ customers + ~1.9 trillion birr half-year transactions.
Strategic targets: 75M users + 21.3 trillion ETB by June 2028.
Effectively "boxed in" M-Pesa per Kenyan Wall Street analysis — Ethio Telecom state-incumbent advantage limits Safaricom Ethiopia M-Pesa expansion.
Government of Ethiopia state-owned via Ethiopian Investment Holdings sovereign wealth fund.

Comparison

Feature	telebirr	[[m-pesa]] (Safaricom Ethiopia M-Pesa rival)	[[mtn-momo-gh]] (MTN MoMo Ghana state-mobile leader analog)	[[mixx-by-yas]] (Mixx by Yas Tanzania state-#2 mobile money analog)	[[airtel-money-rw]] (Airtel Money Africa-wide mobile money analog)
Operator	Ethio Telecom (state-owned Ethiopian telecommunications incumbent; Ethiopian Investment Holdings sovereign wealth fund)	Safaricom Ethiopia (Vodacom + Safaricom Group; entered ET 2023)	MTN Ghana MoMo (MTN Group spinoff Apr 2026; Ghana's largest mobile money)	Mixx by Yas Tanzania (Yas / formerly Tigo Pesa; post-MIC Tanzania consolidation)	Airtel Money (Bharti Airtel Africa)
Type	Ethiopia's largest mobile money service + state-owned telco-led	Ethiopia mobile money (entered 2023; "boxed in" per Kenyan Wall Street analysis)	Ghana mobile money	Tanzania mobile money (Yas-rebranded post-Tigo Pesa)	Multi-African mobile money
Country	Ethiopia	Ethiopia + KE (M-Pesa origin)	Ghana	Tanzania	Multi-African
Users	58M+ customers (mid FY2025/26)	Ethiopia limited; KE 30M+ (M-Pesa origin)	17.7M Q3 2025 + 700K added in past year	20.2M accounts (Mar 2025; TZ #2 after M-Pesa 26M + ahead of Airtel Money 12.1M)	Multi-African
Distinctive	State-owned Ethio Telecom flagship; from zero to 58M+ users in ~5 years; 75M + 21.3 trillion ETB target by Jun 2028; effectively "boxed in" M-Pesa per state-incumbent advantage	M-Pesa origin Kenya 2007; ET entry 2023 limited by telebirr state-incumbent	MTN Group Apr 2026 Ghana MoMo spinoff; GH¢518B Dec 2025 transactions (record monthly); 982M Dec 2025 transactions (+10% MoM)	Yas-rebranded post-Tigo Pesa MIC Tanzania consolidation	Multi-African mobile money

Status

Active, Ethiopia's largest mobile money service + state-owned Ethio Telecom flagship [1, 2]:

Ethio Telecom since May 2021.
58M+ customers (mid FY2025/26) + ~1.9 trillion birr half-year transactions.
Targets: 75M users + 21.3 trillion ETB by June 2028.
Effectively "boxed in" M-Pesa (Safaricom Ethiopia) per Kenyan Wall Street analysis.
NBE regulated.

Sources

Source

Biography extracted from telebirr.md. See matrix.md for standards-support matrix if present.