Safaricom Builds $100 Mn First Data Center in Ethiopia

Safaricom has invested $100 million in the construction of its first data centre in Ethiopia as part of its Africa expansion. 

“The design was carried out between the Safaricom Ethiopia team and our Chinese supplier. The construction took place over a number of weeks in China and was put on a boat and was shipped to Djibouti and then transported to Addis Ababa,” Pedro Rabacal, chief technology officer at Safaricom Ethiopia said.

Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia Plc intends to invest around $300 million into the country this year in establishing more data centres in preparation for rolling out commercial operations.  

“We need a number of data centres across Ethiopia to be able to cover the whole territory. First, we will expand to Adama, then Dira Dawa, and then further out,” he said. 

The telco intends to invest $8.5 billion in its network during the coming 10 years that will enable Ethiopia to access a world-class array of digital services. 

Mr Peter Ndegwa, Safaricom CEO said entry into Ethiopia has brought to life the company’s dream to expand beyond Kenya.

“Ethiopia is a critical part of our strategy under Mergers, Partnerships & Acquisitions. We are proud to lead this partnership that will provide quality and affordable mobile and internet connectivity to enable more Ethiopians to access quality telecommunications services.” 

In readiness to launch operations, Safaricom appointed Anwar Soussa as the Safaricom Ethiopia telecommunication managing director. It also appointed the senior leadership team to lead the establishment of the business and preparation for launch.