Issuance of a telecoms operations licence to Safaricom executives at the Friendship Square in Addis Ababa. FILE PHOTO | COURTESY Safaricom through a consortium — Global Partnership for Ethiopia — was awarded a licence by the Ethiopian government to provide telecom services in the country barely six months ago (May 24) in a ceremony attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta in Addis Ababa.
However, uncertainty now surrounds the planned multibillion dollar investment into the Horn with fears that the conflict in the Tigray that is now spreading towards Addis Ababa could push the country into civil war and destabilise the economy.
Safaricom Chief Executive Peter Ndegwa told reporters in Nairobi that the board is evaluating the crisis and its possible impact on the commencement date, but maintained that the company is committed to meeting its licensing conditions within this period.
Kenya’s leading mobile phone operator Safaricom is cautiously optimistic about its operations in Ethiopia following an escalation of conflict that has displaced more than two million people from the war-torn Tigray region.
Safaricom through a consortium — Global Partnership for Ethiopia — was awarded a licence by the Ethiopian government to provide telecom services in the country barely six months ago (May 24) in a ceremony attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta in Addis Ababa.
The consortium was awarded ‘Licence A’, which contains an attractive spectrum for operating a GSM business for an initial term of 15 years with a provision to apply for renewal for an equal term.
However, uncertainty now surrounds the planned multibillion dollar investment into the Horn with fears that the conflict in the Tigray that is now spreading towards Addis Ababa could push the country into civil war and destabilise the economy.
Safaricom, which has over 31 million customers in Kenya, has already evacuated an undisclosed number of staff out of Ethiopia and said it is assessing the volatility of situation and how it will likely impact the commencement of operations mid next year.
Safaricom Chief Executive Peter Ndegwa told reporters in Nairobi that the board is evaluating the crisis and its possible impact on the commencement date, but maintained that the company is committed to meeting its licensing conditions within this period.
Ethiopia’s nascent telecommunications sector is considered one of the most lucrative in the economy as the once tightly state-controlled economy opens up to foreign investments for the first time.
The mobile financial services in the country has also been opened […]