- Safaricom has become the first private telecoms operator in Ethiopia after it signed a deal to provide mobile money transfer service in the country.
Safaricom has become the first private telecoms operator in Ethiopia after it signed a deal to provide mobile money transfer service in the country. So far, Ethiopia had remained a closed market, under the complete monopoly of the state-owned Ethio Telecom.
In a statement issued by Safaricom, it informed that the company has launched its network and services in the capital Addis Ababa, after successful trials in 10 other cities. The network will offer 4G data, voice, and SMS services between Safaricom Ethiopia and Ethio Telecom customers. According to the statement, the rollout of the national network will continue to reach an additional 14 cities by April 2023. It has also obtained a licence to operate a mobile money transfer service in Ethiopia, like its M-Pesa service launched in Kenya. Speaking at the launch ceremony, Safaricom Ethiopia CEO Anwar Soussa said that the service could take two to three months to roll out. The deals were announced during the recent visit of Kenya’s new president, William Ruto to Ethiopia.
After coming to power, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced major economic reform programme. As part of the drive, the Ethiopian government had announced last year, its plan to end the state monopoly in the telecommunications sector and launched a tender to award two licences to private telecommunications operators. Out of the two licenses, one was awarded to a consortium led by Safaricom that has committed to investing $8.5 million over 10 years.
Almost 35% of Safaricom is owned by the Kenyan government while 40% by South Africa’s Vodacom. The remaining 25% of shares are listed on the stock exchange.
Also read;
https://trendsnafrica.com/safaricom-to-launch-mobile-money-service-m-pesa-this-year-in-ethiopia/
https://trendsnafrica.com/jv-between-safaricom-and-vodafone-for-ethiopia-cleared-by-eu/
