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M-PESA Ethiopia has partnered with Gebeya Inc. to launch the Dala AI Bundle, a new offering that enables users to pay for advanced AI tools directly through their mobile money wallets.
Unveiled in Addis Ababa on February 25, 2026, the initiative marks a significant milestone in Ethiopia’s digital transformation journey. For the first time, mobile money users in the country can subscribe to AI-powered creation tools without requiring a credit card—using only their phone and M-PESA account.
Bridging AI Access and Financial Inclusion
The Dala AI Bundle provides access to Dala Studio, Gebeya’s AI development platform. Through the subscription, users can:
- Build applications
- Create AI agents
- Develop games
- Generate comics and digital content
- Produce materials in local languages such as Amharic and Oromo
This integration addresses a major access barrier in emerging markets: international payment limitations. By embedding AI subscriptions into mobile money infrastructure, the partnership reduces friction for users who traditionally lack access to card-based digital services.
As part of Safaricom Ethiopia’s mobile money ecosystem, M-PESA Ethiopia received its licence from the National Bank of Ethiopia in May 2023 and launched operations in August 2023. The platform has since expanded financial inclusion across urban and rural communities.
Positioning Mobile Money as Digital Infrastructure
According to leadership at both organisations, the partnership signals a shift in how mobile money platforms are positioned within Africa’s digital economy.
Gebeya’s CEO described the Dala AI Bundle as more than a product launch—framing it as an enabler of grassroots innovation. By allowing students, entrepreneurs, and creators to build digital solutions in their local languages, the platform aligns AI capability with Ethiopia’s socio-economic realities.
M-PESA Ethiopia’s leadership reinforced this direction, noting that the platform is evolving beyond payments to become a gateway for broader digital services, including AI subscriptions and innovation tools.
Scaling AI Adoption in Ethiopia’s Growing Digital Economy
Ethiopia’s large youth population and expanding digital ecosystem present strong growth potential for AI-driven services. However, limited card penetration and payment constraints have historically restricted access to global digital platforms.
The Dala AI Bundle addresses this gap by:
- Enabling mobile-money-based AI subscriptions
- Reducing entry costs for creators and SMEs
- Supporting local-language AI development
- Expanding access beyond traditional tech communities
Entrepreneurs can deploy AI agents to streamline operations, content creators can produce locally relevant media, and small businesses can develop lightweight applications without heavy infrastructure investments.
Strategic Implications for Africa’s AI and Fintech Landscape
The collaboration builds on Gebeya’s previous initiatives, including developer training programmes under the Safaricom Talent Cloud framework. However, this new phase shifts focus from specialised training to mass-market AI accessibility.
From a RegTech and digital ecosystem perspective, the model illustrates how mobile money infrastructure can serve as a distribution channel for emerging technologies. If successful, similar integrations could be replicated across other African markets with mature mobile money ecosystems.
By localising AI tools and embedding them within trusted financial platforms, M-PESA Ethiopia and Gebeya are not only expanding digital services—they are redefining how advanced technology reaches underserved populations.
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