M-PESA Ethiopia and Gebeya roll out Dala AI Bundle, bringing AI tools to mobile money users

M-PESA Ethiopia has announced a partnership with Gebeya Inc. to launch the Dala AI Bundle, a new subscription service that enables Ethiopians to access advanced artificial intelligence tools and pay for them directly through their mobile wallets.

Announced in Addis Ababa today, 25 February 2026, the move marks the first time in Ethiopia that AI creation tools can be purchased via mobile money, without the need for a credit card. It is also being positioned as the first instance of an African mobile money operator bundling AI-powered tools as a mainstream product.

For a country where card penetration remains limited but mobile usage is widespread, the significance is clear. By integrating AI subscriptions into a platform already used for everyday transactions, the two companies are betting that access, not just innovation, will define Ethiopia’s digital future.

M-PESA providing AI access through mobile payments

The Dala AI Bundle allows users to subscribe to Dala Studio, Gebeya’s AI creation platform, using their M-PESA wallets. The tools include app building, AI agent creation, game development, comic generation and AI-powered content production in Amharic, Oromo and other local languages.

In practical terms, this removes one of the most persistent barriers to digital services in emerging markets: international payment rails. Users no longer need debit or credit cards to experiment with or deploy AI tools. A mobile phone and an active M-PESA account are sufficient.

Amadou Daffe, CEO of Gebeya Inc., framed the launch as a shift in ownership of the continent’s AI narrative.

“We’re not just adding another product; we’re handing the keys of building and creation to every Ethiopian with a mobile phone,” he said. “A student in Addis, a merchant in Bahir Dar, and a storyteller in Hawassa can all now create digital assets in their own language, making their payments through M-PESA, the app they already use every day.”

For M-PESA Ethiopia, the bundle represents a deliberate expansion beyond peer-to-peer transfers and merchant payments into digital services.

“M-PESA is evolving beyond payments into a gateway for digital services,” said Elsa Muzzolini, CEO of M-PESA Ethiopia. “By partnering with Gebeya, we are enabling millions of Ethiopians to access AI tools through a payment platform they already trust.”

Safaricom Ethiopia’s mobile money arm is regulated by the National Bank of Ethiopia. It received its Payment Instrument Issuer Licence in May 2023 and began operations in August the same year. Since then, it has focused on expanding access to digital financial services across the country.

The Dala AI Bundle will initially be available via the Dala Studio platform, with integration into the M-PESA application expected to follow.

The launch builds on Gebeya’s earlier engagement in the country through the Safaricom Talent Cloud initiative, which has trained thousands of Ethiopian developers. The new bundle shifts the focus from training alone to direct consumer and creator access.

That transition matters. Ethiopia has a young, fast-growing population and an expanding digital economy. Yet access to advanced development tools has often been constrained by infrastructure and payment limitations. By localising AI tools in Ethiopian languages and tying access to mobile money, the partnership seeks to lower both technical and financial barriers.

The broader ambition is to catalyse Ethiopia’s emerging creator and developer economy. Entrepreneurs can use AI agents to automate operations. Content creators can generate comics and multimedia in local languages. Small businesses can experiment with app development without significant upfront costs.

At a national level, the partnership aligns with Ethiopia’s wider digital transformation agenda. Democratising AI access could accelerate innovation in sectors ranging from education and media to retail and services.

For M-PESA Ethiopia, it strengthens its position not just as a payments provider but as digital infrastructure. For Gebeya, it validates its AI bundle model at scale, leveraging M-PESA’s distribution network to reach millions of potential users.

The bigger story is about localisation. Rather than importing global AI services built primarily for Western markets, the Dala AI Bundle emphasises tools tailored to Ethiopian languages and business realities.

If adoption gains traction, the model could serve as a blueprint for other African markets where mobile money is deeply embedded in daily life.

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