Orange already announced its wish to be considered in July, in a highly public meeting with Henok Teferra Shawl, Ethiopia’s ambassador to France.
But now the Ministry of Finance has put the request for proposals (RFPs) “for the partial privatization of Ethio Telecom” on an official level.
The notice was issued by Fikerte Seferah (pictured), the privatization director at Public Enterprises Holding and Administration Agency.
The ministry issued the request for proposals “from interested parties who can add value to the company by bringing in best practices in terms of operations, infrastructure management and next generation technological capabilities.”
Bidders have to pay the ministry a non-refundable fee of US$20,000 and have to “submit a confidentiality undertaking to the government of Ethiopia” – something that Orange possibly missed in its public discussions with the ambassador.
However, the ministry says the “RFP is open to all interested parties and not limited to those companies who indicated their interest by submitting an expression of interest”.
The notice from the ministry is dated 14 September, but the ministry has set no deadline for proposals.
