Nyala Insurance Becomes First Ethiopian Insurer to Integrate M-Pesa

Nyala Insurance has become the first Ethiopian insurance company to integrate M-Pesa, Safaricom's mobile money service. Under the agreement, Nyala Insurance customers can make premium payments, renew policies, and conduct other insurance-related transactions through M-PESA.

Safaricom M-PESA will also provide Nyala Insurance with access to the M-PESA platform enabling the Insurer to accept mobile payments in real time. This will allow Nyala Insurance to reach a wider customer base, streamline their payment processes, and offer greater flexibility to their clients.

M-Pesa, officially Launched in Ethiopia on August 2023, has been integrated into the mobile banking service of several banks while just foraying into the insurance sector.

Ethiopia has one of the smallest insurance penetration rates in the world, with less than 1% of the over 120 million citizens being insured. While 18 insurance companies operate in the country with assets close to 40 billion birr last year, over half of the coverage is either for motor or maritime insurance.

By embracing M-Pesa, Nyala hopes to overcome some of the barriers to insurance adoption, particularly in rural and underserved areas where traditional banking services remain limited.

During the Insurer’s 30^th general assembly meeting in November, Nyala reported gross profits of 634 million birr while settling nearly 350-million-birr claims in the 2023/24 financial year.

For Nyala Insurance, the integration with M PESA represents a step toward improving accessibility and efficiency in a country where mobile money services are rapidly gaining traction, according to Tegegn Masresha, Chief Customer Officer of Nyala Insurance.

"This is an important step toward making insurance more convenient and accessible for our customers," said Tegegn. "By partnering with M-Pesa, we are embracing technology to meet the evolving needs of Ethiopians." 

Since entering the Ethiopian market in October 2022, Safaricom has rapidly grown its user base, reporting 6.1 million monthly active users as of late 2024, a 47% surge year-over-year.

Safaricom was granted a license to operate mobile money services in Ethiopia in May 2023 and launched M-Pesa services in August 2023.  The rollout of M-Pesa in Ethiopia, an investment worth $150 million, aimed to disrupt the largely cash-reliant economy

Since its launch in August 2023, M-Pesa has experienced significant growth in Ethiopia. The number of registered M-Pesa customers surged from 1.2 million in September 2023 to [8.3 million by October 2024, a six-fold increase]. This growth resulted in 6.4 billion birr in transactions processed through the M-Pesa platform. However, this figure pales in comparison to the nearly 47 million users of Telebirr, Ethio Telecom's mobile money service, which offers a wider range of services.

“This partnership highlights our drive to grow Ethiopia’s digital economy,” said Elsa Muzzolini, Chief Digital Financial Services Officer at Safaricom M-Pesa. She added that the collaboration equips businesses like Nyala Insurance with tools to deliver faster and more accessible mobile payment options.