Ethio Telecom CEO Frehiwot Tamiru (pictured) said revenue for 2019 was 22 billion birr ($680 million), over the company’s target for the year by 4% and 32% up on 2018.
Of that, “$73 million foreign currency was generated from international business, showing an increase of 116% from the same of the last budget year and scored 111% of the target for this period,” she said.
Mobile voice accounted for 50.4% of the total revenue, Data and Internet 27.3%, revenue from international business 9.8%, Value Added Service 8.5% and the remaining 3% is generated from other sources.”
Ethio Telecom has 45.6 million customers, of whom 44.03 million are mobile users.
Meanwhile the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, has urged South African companies to invest in telecoms and other state-owned enterprises in Ethiopia.
“Ethiopia is now opening up to private capital in telecommunications, energy, logistics and other industries,” said Abiy, according to a South African Broadcasting Corporation report. He added: “South African investors have great experience in these fields.”
Last year the government of Ethiopia appointed KPMG to advise it on the privatisation of Ethio Telecom.
The government has said it wants to license two new mobile operators – and at times has also suggested that Ethio Telecom would be split into a services company and an infrastructure company.
