XRP Adoption in Africa as M-PESA Safaricom Leverages Onafriq

• Ripple partner Onafriq has forged a partnership with Kenyan-based M-PESA for remittances to Ethiopia, hinting at an XRP integration.
• Onafriq currently operates in 40 African countries, supporting remittances, which have been increasing and playing a major role in empowering the continent.

In an effort to make payments easier, Safaricom’s M-PESA has announced a collaboration with Onafriq to facilitate remittances to Ethiopia. It is estimated that Ethiopia generates more than $5 billion in remittances annually. This partnership will give international customers an easy and fast, formal channel to send money to their loved ones in Ethiopia.

Ripple partner Onafriq boasts 500 million mobile money wallets and 200 million bank accounts. The digital payment network further celebrates operating in 40 African countries, helping facilitate international remittances.

As CNF reported, Ripple Labs and Onafriq announced a strategic partnership to improve payments between Africa and new markets. Formerly known as MFS Africa, it expanded Africa’s cross-border payments to new markets such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the UK, and Australia. Onafriq exists as an omnichannel network of networks that ensures that partners are provided with a single pathway to unlock the abilities of cross-border and cross-platform payment solutions.

Safaricom’s M-PESA, on the other hand, is Africa’s leading mobile money service, with more than 604,000 active agents. Serving more than 51 million customers across seven countries in Africa, the mobile money service provides a safe, secure, and affordable way to send and receive money.

A union of the two financial powerhouses could bring greater financial inclusion to Africa, beginning with Ethiopia. Speaking on this collaboration, Paul Kavavu, General Manager at Safaricom Ethiopia, said:

Our goal is to make payments easier. The incorporation of international money transfer services into M-PESA serves that purpose perfectly. Ethiopia generates more than $5bn in remittances annually. This partnership will provide the Ethiopian Diaspora with an easy and fast formal channel to send money to their loved ones in Ethiopia.

This deal allows Ethiopians abroad to send funds directly to M-PESA wallets, potentially using Ripple’s technology (previously known as ODL) for faster and smoother transactions. This could potentially drive demand and adoption for Ripple technology and XRP tokens.

Notably, over the past few years, several countries in Africa have been facing serious economic challenges, with Nigeria having an inflation rate of almost 30%. On top of that, the Nigerian naira has also experienced a 230% devaluation in the last year. XRP could further offer an investment and deflationary asset in economically challenging solutions.

Ghana also had its inflation averaging 14.3% in the past ten years leading up to 2022. Furthermore, a World Bank report confirms that remittance rates in Africa are among the highest globally

At the time of writing, XRP is celebrating a bullish couple of hours after a nearly 5% surge in the last 24 hours. This helps recoup part of its weekly losses, with prices down by around 6% in the last 7 days. Trading at $0.62, the digital asset has climbed back above a key psychological position.

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