Aiden Kiprop 
- Ethiopia: Safaricom announces an investment of $1.5 Billion to Expand the Coverage of its Network
Safaricom Ethiopia plans to invest $1.5 billion over the next three years, notably to expand the coverage of its telecoms network in Ethiopia. This investment plan was revealed by Wim Vanhelleputte (photo), general director of the telecoms company, in an interview with The Reporter . This was on the sidelines of the Accelerated Digital Transformation Summit held from April 24-25 in Addis Ababa.
The investment will be used in particular to deploy additional telecom towers to ensure total coverage of the population. While Safaricom expresses a total need for 7,000 telecom towers, the company currently operates 2,500. 40% of this infrastructure is leased from the historic operator Ethio Telecom.
The initiative is part of the broader commitment made by Safaricom Ethiopia in May 2021 to invest $8 billion in its operations over ten years. Since the launch of its commercial activities in October 2022, the company has continued the gradual deployment of its services in Ethiopia. The telecoms operator has coverage in Addis Ababa and 26 other cities, as well as on the roads.
The extension of the telecoms network to four new provinces should allow Safaricom Ethiopia to reach millions of additional subscribers and increase its market share. The company claimed around 5 million active subscribers as of August 2023.
Ethio Telecom had 72 million mobile subscribers as of June 30, 2023.
