Kifiya Sets to Generate Close to 2 Billion Birr Revenue

Kifiya Financial Technology PLC, the company behind the unified billing system project, is set to make close to 2 billion birr revenue in three and half years, the expected life span of the first phase of the project. The company announced on January 17 that preparation has been finalized to commence operation next month. The project is implemented by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT), the three utility companies: Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation, ethio telecom and Addis Ababa Water and Sewage Authority, and Kifiya Financial Technology PLC.

Kifiya/Global Computing Solutions (GCS), fully owned by Ethiopians, with more than 15 years of IT experience, is the company who championed the project; a public and private partnership initiative with the MCIT. This is the first of its kind in the country. The project will provide single window service delivery system whereby citizens can settle water, telephone and electric bills at any of the available centers.

The company has so far trained 450 staff for the project. It has also spent 102 million birr on the project, states a letter Kifiya sent to Ethiopian Business Review. When the centers start operation in February, they are expected to handle 18 million transactions per month. The company, Kifiya, will get 2.54 birr per transaction from the utility companies. This means, the company will generate over 1.92 billion birr revenue at the end of the project.

Initially, 31 lehulu centers (places where the single window service will be provided) will open in Addis Ababa, with a further 27 to become operational over the next three years, including centers in Mekelle, Bahir Dar, Hawassa and Adama. There is also a plan to transfer lehulu customers to mobile billing by 2014, according to the document distributed during the press release.