The Ethiopian government has awarded a telecom service license to the Global Partnership for Ethiopia, a consortium of telecom companies.
The consortium, which includes Vodafone, Vodacom, Safaricom, Sumitomo Corporation, and the CDC Group, won the bid offering $850 million, two million dollars more than the second-highest bidder, the office of the prime minister said in a statement.
“Global Partnership for Ethiopia has been selected as having the potential to provide high-quality telecom services to the people of Ethiopia,” it added
Balcha Reba, Director general of Ethiopian Communications Authority, disclosed that the license will “usher in a new era of telecom service development in the country. Ethiopians will have access to quality and reliable communication services and also job opportunities worth over $8 billion in domestic investment.
He added that he was “very pleased that the consortium will invest $8 billion over the next 10 years” and looked forward to the creation of new jobs.
The country’s Council of Ministers also unanimously decided to expedite tasks that would enable the issuance of the second telecom license through the Ethiopian Communication Authority.
In mid-2018, Ethiopia floated the partial privatization of the country’s giant telecom through the sale of two licenses for prospective international operators.
“The Council of Ministers has unanimously made a historic decision by allowing Ethiopian Communications Authority to grant a new nationwide telecom license to the Global Partnership for Ethiopia which offered the highest licensing fee and a very solid investment case,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Twitter.
“With over USD 8 billion total investment, this will be the single largest FDI [foreign direct investment] into Ethiopia to date. Our desire to take Ethiopia fully digital is on track. I would like to thank all that have taken part in this and for pulling off a very transparent and effective process!” Abiy added.
