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Ethiopian Telco Licence

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Ethiopia Turns Down $500 Million as part of Telco License Deal

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The Ethiopian Telecommunication Authority (ECA) has turned down roughly $500 million after the government decided to exclude mobile money from the terms of two new telecommunications licences. “This decision has cost us a high price,” says Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia. “When it was decided to open up the telecoms market about two years ago, one of the key areas of contention was the issue of mobile money. This decision is expected to give the country time to develop its own mobile-money platform. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, John Davies says “Though Ethiopian mobile penetration lags behind peers, investment and lowered prices should lead to strong growth in take-up of mobile services. The value to international investors depends on agreements with the government and how i...

MTN Bids for Ethiopian Telco Licence Alongside Vodacom and Safaricom MTN Bids for Ethiopian Telco Licence Alongside Vodacom and Safaricom
Politics

MTN Bids for Ethiopian Telco Licence Alongside Vodacom and Safaricom

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MTN Group has reportedly made a bid for an Ethiopian telecommunications licence alongside Vodacom Group and Safaricom. Finance ministry adviser, Brook Taye says that the consortium of bids is led by Safaricom. “We always wanted quality providers and this is what we have received,” adds Taye. “These are two African giants — the Safaricom-led consortium and MTN — either one or two of the operators will get a licence in Ethiopia.” Kenya’s geographical proximity to Ethiopia is expected to be one reason why Safaricom leads the consortium. “I think it will be a very good exposure to Safaricom from the perspective of geographical closeness on the one perspective, but also giving Safaricom additional exposure to more growth areas,” says Vodacom’s chief executive, Shameel Joosub. In an interview wi...