Home » Safaricom Ethiopia

Safaricom Ethiopia

Ethiopia Changing Laws to Prepare for M-PESA Launch

Image sourced from WeeTracker Ethiopia has reportedly started changing certain national payments laws in an effort to clear the way for Safaricom to launch M-PESA, Africa’s largest fintech platform, to the Horn of Africa country’s virtually untapped market of 110-million people. The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has drafted a bill that will allow foreign investors to launch and operate mobile money services in the country, making way for companies like Safaricom, which is planning to begin operations in Ethiopia within the year. Last year, a consortium led by Safaricom and Vodafone secured Ethiopia’s first-ever private mobile telephony license for $850-million, however, the deal did not include or permit mobile financial services like M-PESA. According to Business Daily Africa, the NBE n...

Ethiopia’s Government Postpones Ethio Telecom Privatisation Process

Image sourced from FurtherAfrica. The government of Ethiopia has announced today that it will be postponing the ongoing privatisation process of the state-owned Ethio Telecom, and did not set a timeframe for when the process will continue. In an announcement posted to Twitter by the official account of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance, the Ethiopian federal government says that due to “recent developments” and “fast-moving macroeconomic changes both globally and from a country perspective, the government of Ethiopia has decided to postpone the privatisation process” of Ethio Telecom. pic.twitter.com/rNLYAijWnX — Ministry of Finance – Ethiopia (@MoF_Ethiopia) March 18, 2022 “The government of Ethiopia believes that taking time to accommodate the improved macroeconomic situation as well as ...

Tower Sharing Deal in the Works Between Safaricom & Ethio Telecom

Sourced from CGTN. Safaricom has reportedly begun negotiations on a new infrastructure sharing deal with Ethiopian rival and state-owned entity Ethio Telecom. This comes as the Kenyan telecom company and its consortium of investors prepare a much-anticipated launch in the Horn of Africa country over the next month. CEO of Safaricom in Ethiopia, Anwar Soussa, says that the company is currently working with Ethio Telecom and state regulator Ethiopia Communication Authority (ECA) to finalise all the details of the partnership. Safaricom is seeking to leverage the sparse, but already-existing tower infrastructure, as well as cell sites, masts and other active elements such as network roaming, that Ethio Telecom is maintaining to boost its initial launch, with the telco and its consortium expec...

Safaricom Builds Ethiopian Data Centre Worth $100M With 2 More on the Way

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit “Cookie Settings” to provide a controlled consent.

Safaricom Pulls Staff Out of Ethiopia As War Nears the Capital City

Demonstrators take part in a rally in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on November 7, 2021, in support of the national defense forces. Image sourced from Eduardo Soteras, AFP via Business Daily Africa. East Africa’s leading telecom company Safaricom has reportedly evacuated some of its employees from Ethiopia, fearing disruption to its operations due to the ongoing armed conflict and civil unrest in the horn of Africa country. The firm evacuated employees from the country on Wednesday and Friday. Safaricom is part of a larger consortium that is aiming to start operations in Ethiopia sometime next year, after months of negotations with the Ethiopian government. The Safaricom consortium was awarded an operating license in the country by the government for an initial period of 15 years. A number of nat...

Safaricom Bosses Receive $6.4 Million in Free Shares

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit “Cookie Settings” to provide a controlled consent. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.

Orange Submits Interest for Stake in Ethio Telecom

Sourced from MSNBC. French telecom firm Orange has submitted an expression of interest to participate in the ongoing partial privatisation of Ethiopia’s Ethio Telecom. This is according to Ethiopia’s ambassador to Paris, sharing the news on Twitter. Fruitful discussions with team of @orange which has formally submitted interest to participate in the partial privatization of @ethiotelecom! 🇪🇹 with fast growing economy & income of +100 mln people remains very attractive to foreign investors. @MoF_Ethiopia @mfaethiopia pic.twitter.com/vXJxTnYHas — Henok Teferra Shawl (@_HenokTeferra) July 20, 2021 Henok Teferra Shawl said in the tweet that Orange had “formally submitted interest to participate in the partial privatisation of Ethio Telecom.” Saying that discussions with Ora...

Safaricom’s Plans in Ethiopia Hit Snag Due to Possible US Payment Ban

Image sourced from Techweez Safaricom’s plans to expand into Ethiopia have hit a complication as a US State financier is threatening to recall its loans to a Safaricom-led consortium following an escalation of armed conflict in the horn of Africa. The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) says that acts of violence against civilians in Ethiopia’s Tigray region could affect the release of $500-million in loans to the consortium. If the conflict deepens, it could push the DFC to forgo the investments altogether and pressure the telecoms in the consortium to seek finances from elsewhere. War in Tigray DFC’s financing of the consortium had previously been thrown into doubt over US economic sanctions against Ethiopia related to the ongoing conflict in Tigray, which has killed t...

Ethio Telecom Partners with Ericsson to Launch 4G Network for South West Ethiopia

Image sourced from FurtherAfrica. Ethio Telecom is partnering with Ericsson to expand its 4G services into the South West region of Ethiopia during 2021. A decisive move that correlates with Ethiopia’s plans into introducing international investors and partners into their monopoly-laden and virtually untapped telecoms space. The service provider will use Ericsson Radio System products and solutions for this deployment. The core expansion will take place in Ethio Telecom’s regional data centres and the data centres in Addis Ababa. Through this partnership, Ethio Telecom will seek to modernise its network by transitioning from the current Operations Support Systems (OSS) systems to the more advanced and high-capacity Ericsson Network Manager (ENM). Ethio Telecom will also introduce Ericsson ...

Ethiopian Government Selling a 40% Stake in Ethio Telecom

Image sourced from Africanews. The Ethiopian government has announced a new tender process to begin the sale of a 40% stake in the state-owned telecommunications company, Ethio Telecom. The sale is still in its very early stages with the selection of a successful bidder expected only at the end of a significantly lengthy process. According to reports, the government plans to retain a 55% stake in the operator while the remaining 5% will be offered to domestic investors through an initial public offering. This new proposed sale of a large minority stake in the telecom comes as part of the Ethiopian government’s plan to liberalise the country’s monopoly in its telecom sector. Another key piece of the plan is for two foreign carriers to be granted licenses to operate in the vast, nearly-untap...

MTN Plans to Build New ICT Centre in Ghana

Sourced from TheTechieGuy (https://thetechieguy.com/) MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita has made a three-day visit to Ghana and launched major projects that the operator aims to achieve by 2022, Ecofin reported. It intends to improve and expand network infrastructure to bring quality telecom services to rural areas and supporting Ghana’s QR code project and other digital initiatives such as combating cyber-attacks and developing women’s participation in ICT, he said. Mupita also revealed MTN’s intention to build an ICT centre in Ghana and finalise the opening of 30% of MTN Ghana’s capital to local investors by the end of the year. MTN plans to open up 30% of the capital MobileMoney by January 2022, too. Since March, the company has initiated a strategic repositioning to attract third-party capita...

Safaricom Eyes an Opportunity to Expand into Ethiopia

Sourced from CGTN. Safaricom PLC is planning to extend its reach into Ethiopia, Kenya’s northern neighbour. Although not initially successful with its first few attempts, new changes within the Ethiopian government may prove beneficial for the mobile carrier to finally establish a presence within the country. Last month, the Ethiopian government said that it would be impossible for Safaricom’s M-PESA service to have any space in the market. The Ethiopian central bank about reiterated that no foreign financial institutions would be allowed to offer mobile money services in the country. Now, the good news for Safaricom is that the company was recently offered a window to buy into Ethio Telecom, the country’s mass-monopoly provider whose privatisation process is currently underway. This is on...