Safaricom's preparations to start operations in Ethiopia
Safaricom is readying to start its operations in Ethiopia this year.
"A lot of work is currently going on in Ethiopia with the aim of a full rollout of the network and commercial launch within the calendar year 2022,” said Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa when the firm released its financial results for the year ended March 31, 2022, yesterday.
The firm said that Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia had covered much ground including hiring 300 personnel for the operation, with the number of employees expected to grow to over 1,000 by next year.
In its venture in Ethiopia, Safaricom has partnered with Vodacom, Vodafone, Sumitomo Corporation and British International Investment (formerly CDC Group). Ndegwa said Safaricom Ethiopia is well staffed to start operations, including having in place a management team and a board of directors.
Ndegwa said Ethiopian operation is entering into an infrastructure sharing deal with its competitor Ethio Telecom to share telecommunications towers that could ease rollout of its network in the country.
