Onafriq, a Ripple partner, has recently partnered with Kenyan-based M-PESA to facilitate remittances to Ethiopia, suggesting a potential integration of Ripple’s XRP. Onafriq operates in 40 African countries, supporting remittances and playing a significant role in empowering the continent.
To simplify the process of payments, M-PESA, Safaricom’s mobile money service, has collaborated with Onafriq to enable remittances to Ethiopia. It is estimated that Ethiopia receives over $5 billion in remittances every year. This partnership will provide international customers with a convenient and efficient channel to send money to their loved ones in Ethiopia.
Onafriq, a Ripple partner, boasts 500 million mobile money wallets and 200 million bank accounts. The digital payment network operates in 40 African countries, facilitating international remittances.
In a strategic partnership between Ripple Labs and Onafriq, efforts were made to enhance payments between Africa and new markets. Formerly known as MFS Africa, Onafriq expanded Africa’s cross-border payments to markets like the Gulf Cooperation Council, the UK, and Australia. Onafriq serves as an omnichannel network of networks, providing partners with a single pathway to unlock the potential of cross-border and cross-platform payment solutions.
M-PESA, on the other hand, is Africa’s leading mobile money service with over 604,000 active agents. It serves more than 51 million customers across seven African countries and offers a secure and affordable way to send and receive money.
The collaboration between these two financial powerhouses could promote greater financial inclusion in Africa, starting with Ethiopia. Paul Kavavu, the General Manager at Safaricom Ethiopia, expressed the goal of making payments easier and highlighted that the incorporation of international money transfer services into M-PESA aligns perfectly with this objective. With Ethiopia receiving over $5 billion in remittances annually, this partnership will provide the Ethiopian Diaspora with a convenient and formal channel to send money to their loved ones.
This partnership enables Ethiopians abroad to send funds directly to M-PESA wallets, potentially utilizing Ripple’s technology (previously known as ODL) for faster and smoother transactions. This could drive demand and adoption for Ripple technology and XRP tokens.
It is worth noting that several countries in Africa have faced significant economic challenges in recent years, with Nigeria experiencing an inflation rate of nearly 30% and a 230% devaluation of the Nigerian naira in the past year. XRP could offer an investment and deflationary asset in economically challenging situations.
Ghana has also seen its inflation average 14.3% in the past decade. Additionally, a World Bank report confirms that remittance rates in Africa are among the highest globally.
As of now, XRP has experienced a bullish trend in the past few hours, with a nearly 5% surge in the last 24 hours. This has helped recover some of its weekly losses, as prices have dropped by around 6% in the past 7 days. Currently trading at $0.62, the digital asset has surpassed a key psychological level.