Safaricom Lands Ksh91.9 Billion Deal In Ethiopia

Ethiopia awarded a new telecommunication license to a consortium that includes Kenya's Safaricom.

According to reports by different media platforms the consortium was led by Kenya's Safaricom and Japan's Sumitomo.

Reuters quoted a senior adviser at the Finance Ministry who said the consortium paid Ksh91.9 billion for the licence.

Safaricom's parent company Safaricom's parent companies U.K.’s Vodafone Group Plc won the licence beating MTN International.

Other companies that had shown interest include Orange, Snail Mobile, Etisalat, Axian, Telkom SA, Saudi Telecom Company, Electromecha International Projects, Kandu Global Communications and Liquid Telecom.

The Ethiopian government required telecommunication companies to build their own network infrastructure such as towers.

Ethiopia's government also called off the sale of a second new permit. The government expects the new venture to create one million jobs in Africa's second most populated country.