The Ethiopian incumbent and state-owned operator, Ethio Telecom, expects to see the jump in revenue over the 2023/2024 financial year, which runs from July until June, it said in its business plan which was released yesterday.
Ethio Telecom also expects to increase its subscriber base by 8.3 % to reach 78 million and increase the number of users on its mobile money app, Telebirr, by 28.5% to reach 44.1 million over the next 12 months.
The new plan and projected growth come as the Ethiopian government is seeking to increase competition and secure international investment in the Ethiopian telecom market.
In addition to a tender to licence a third operator, the government is also planning to sell up to a 40% stake in Ethio Telecom.
Ethio Telecom also said it planned to add 998 new mobile base stations to its network during the financial year, with one of its major initiatives being to strengthen telecom network expansion and service quality assurance activities through 5G, 4G/LTE advanced and 3G network expansion and optimisation.
Ethiopia has the second largest population in Africa at 126 million people, and following this investment total mobile service capacity will be 92 million by end of the fiscal year.
The plan outlines Ethio Telecoms ambitions to become a leading digital solution provider and is the second annual business plan as part of its LEAD plan, to help it maintain a market leading position in the newly competitive market.
Ethio Telecom faced competition in the mobile space for the first time in October 2022, when Safaricom Ethiopia commenced operations.
In addition to expanding connectivity projects, Ethio Telecom plans to work “in collaboration with ecosystem players to accelerate digitalisation activities by providing various beyond connectivity solutions in education, health, agriculture, and urban modernisation”.
Doing so, it says, will “improve the overall national economic revitalisation, national competitiveness, and enable institutions to provide fast, efficient, and transparent services to their customers”.
