Impact of investment in the Ethiopian telecoms market – the story so far

At the start of 2019, Ethiopia was the last major economy worldwide without a liberalised telecoms market; state-run Ethio Telecom was the country’s only telecoms network operator. Following the government’s commitment as part of the home-grown economic reform agenda, a proclamation published on 12 August 2019 marked the start of Ethiopia’s telecoms market liberalisation, by establishing the Ethiopian Communications Authority. 

The government’s desire for a competitive, liberalised telecoms market was realised in 2021 when Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC (Safaricom Ethiopia) was granted a nationwide, full-service unified telecoms service licence. In October 2022, Safaricom Ethiopia launched mobile voice, SMS and data services for personal and business users in competition with Ethio Telecom.

This report identifies the impact that competition from Safaricom Ethiopia has had, and is expected to have, on the Ethiopian telecoms sector, society and economy. We look at the period after market liberalisation and examine developments in infrastructure deployment and service offerings and their impact on digitalisation and take-up. We also consider the socioeconomic benefits associated with increased digitalisation in similar markets.