Ethio Telecom’s CEO, Frehiwot Tamiru (pictured, in pink), signed the agreement in Addis Ababa with Henok Kebede (right of picture), president of Amhara Bank.
Ethio Telecom said: “The bank [can] use this modern high capacity world standard data centre for modernising its information technology system so as to provide reliable services to its customers.”
The telco, which is still a monopoly because of the delayed start to rival operator Safaricom Ethiopia, has 84 customers or partners for its data centre service, and is expanding its data centre footprint.
“So far, our company has built two modular data centres and three more data centres are under construction that will soon have five data centres altogether,” said Ethio Telecom.
The expansion includes what the company calls a “big green data centre”, that is being designed for 1,000 racks.
“Five sites are made already available outside Addis Ababa for geography redundancy,” said the company.
Amhara Bank will use a modular data centre that “is designed to ensure mission-critical data and equipped with extensive security and compliance system controls with 99% reliable connectivity and high electric power saving capacity”, said Ethio Telecom.
“It is also a high-capacity world-class standard data centre managed by skilled manpower.” It has five separate fibre connections, “with automatic switchover functionality to ensure service reliability”.
Ethio Telecom said: “What makes building this modern modular data centre unique is that its mission [is] to enhance the services of all the company’s information technology and network infrastructure developments.”
Amhara Bank, which started operations last year, is one of the new banks that have started up in Ethiopia following the market liberalisations of prime minister Abiy Ahmed, who was elected to power in April 2018.
The bank has more than 185,000 shareholders and a paid-up capital of almost six billion Ethiopian birr (US$115 million).
