Ethiopia and Gebeya Launch Dala AI Bundle

The partnership marks the first time an African mobile money operator has bundled AI-powered creation tools as a mainstream product, allowing subscribers to pay for advanced AI capabilities using their M-PESA wallets. The Dala AI Bundle sits alongside existing offerings, making AI accessible to every Ethiopian with a mobile phone.

Ethiopian builders, entrepreneurs, and creators can now subscribe to Dala Studio’s localized AI tools, including app building, AI Agent creation, game development, comic generation, and AI-powered content creation in Amharic, Oromo, and other local languages.

All subscriptions are payable seamlessly via M-PESA, eliminating traditional payment barriers.

“We’re not just adding another product, we’re handing the keys of building and creation to every Ethiopian with a mobile phone,” said Amadou Daffe, CEO of Gebeya Inc. “A student in Addis, a merchant in Bahir Dar, a storyteller in Hawassa, all can now create digital assets in their own language, making their payments through M-PESA, the app they already use every day. This is how Africa’s AI future gets built: by Africans, for Africans.”

The launch builds on Gebeya’s existing partnership in Ethiopia through the Safaricom Talent Cloud, which has already trained thousands of Ethiopian developers. The Dala AI Bundle extends that commitment from training to direct consumer access.

“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. This is the next step in transforming lives through inclusive digital innovation.”

How it will work:

• The bundle is available on the Dala Studio platform accordingly
• And soon on the M-PESA Application itself

Strategic Significance:
The partnership expands M-PESA’s role beyond money transfer into digital services, opening new opportunities within Ethiopia’s growing creator and developer economy.

For Gebeya, the collaboration validates the AI bundle model at a national scale, leveraging M-PESA’s distribution network to reach millions of users.

For Ethiopia, the Dala AI Bundle represents a major step toward democratizing AI access and accelerating the country’s digital transformation agenda.