Safaricom Telecommunication Ethiopia Plc on Thursday announced that it will start commercial services in Ethiopia in August 2022.
The telco had planned to launch in April 2022.
However, on Thursday, it outlined a phased launch of its network and services in August 2022 in Ethiopia’s city of Dire Dawa before expanding to 24 cities across the country in April 2023.
We will begin our phased launch in August 2022 in Dire Dawa and switch on the network in 24 cities across the country by April 2023. #SafaricomET #DigitalEthiopia
— Safaricom Ethiopia (@SafaricomET) July 7, 2022
“Safaricom Ethiopia is looking forward to switching on our network and services, starting with Dire Dawa from August 2022 and 24 other cities in phases across the country in the coming months,” Matthew Harrison-Harvey, chief external affairs and regulatory officer.
“We are in a testing period to ensure that when we switch on, we will deliver a quality experience for Ethiopians. We are working to fulfil our commitment to building the long-term foundations for our contribution to Ethiopia’s digital transformation and inclusion objectives to transform lives for a digital future. “
The Safaricom consortium, which includes Japan’s Sumitomo, South Africa’s Vodafone and UK government-owned CDC Group, won the licence with a bid of KSh97.9 billion last year.
South Africa’s Vodacom Group owns a 35 per cent stake in the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm. Its annual report said, “Safaricom Ethiopia to reach EBITDA break-even in four years and an EBITDA margin of 40 per cent in 10 years.”
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