Kazana Group’s Smilepay Debuts as Ethiopia’s Latest Licensed Remittance Platform

A new player backed by Kazana Group entered Ethiopia’s digital remittance market, last week. Smilepay officially launched its operations after securing a license from the National Bank of Ethiopia six weeks prior. While over 90 operators are currently licensed to provide remittance services in Ethiopia, the new platform looks to stand out among the few offering digital options. 

Muluken Bekele, CEO of Smilepay, considers the large number of players to be indicative of Ethiopia’s unmet demand for remittance services.

“The demand is real, the more options people have, the more we’re all pushed to build better products,” he told Shega. 

Smilepay is integrated into 29 local banks and can process remittance inflows from the United States of America, South Africa, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates. Transfers can be made directly to bank accounts or mobile money wallets. Smilepay’s CEO says upcoming features will include bonus offerings, business-to-business (B2B) payments within Africa, and enhanced wallet functionalities. 

“It is designed to make cross-border payments safer, easier, and more affordable,” Muluken noted.

While currently in its piloting phase, Smilepay’s app is set to host features that allow payment of utility bills, airtime top-ups, and the creation of bank QR codes.

Following Ethiopia’s transition into a market-based foreign exchange regime last July, several companies have dipped their toes into the digital remittance landscape. Telebirr Remit, a product by the state-owned telecom operator, was among the early entrants through a platform that allowed users to send money directly to mobile wallets from their Visa cards. Incumbent players like Cash Go also quickly updated their features to suit the dynamic nature of the floated currency, while payment operators like Santimpay entered the digital remittance market last month.

Nonetheless, a significant portion of the remittance inflows into Ethiopia continues to be funneled through unofficial channels, partly due to stubborn price disparities between official and parallel exchange rates. With Ethiopia receiving an average of around 6 billion USD through remittances over the past two years, it remains a vital source of foreign currency. Smilepay’s plans to extend beyond Ethiopia and receive transfers in other African countries could prove to be a worthwhile competitive advantage. Its holding company, Kazana Group, which has 15 companies under its belt, could also help in accelerating Smilepay’s market penetration.