On paper, the future looked bright for M-Birr. From its headquarters in Fitzwilliam Square in the heart of Dublin 2, the Irish company had quietly become the number one provider of mobile money services in Ethiopia, servicing more than 1.9 million people in the African country. Plus, it was operating in a high-growth market. Mobile money, which allows unbanked people to use their phones as a bank account, has scaled rapidly in Africa over the past decade. According to its strategic plan, M-Birr expected to have 21 million customers by 2026, processing €241 million that year. Its name (M for…

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