Telecoms Ethiopia
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...
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...
