The consortium’s plans to expand in Ethiopia have been complicated by the US state development agency’s decision to pause investments in the country.
Browsing: Safaricom
Ethiopia has awarded a new telecommunications licence to a consortium including South Africa’s Vodacom Group, paving the way for a long-awaited opening of the sector.
A Vodafone Group consortium and MTN Group submitted bids for permits to operate in Ethiopia that were much less than what was sought by the government, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Vodacom spent more than R10-billion on its network in South Africa in the financial year to 31 March, outpacing rival MTN, as it ramped up investment to deal with soaring demand.
Vodacom Group is expanding its financial and e-commerce services in South Africa through a partnership with AliPay, seeking to accelerate growth in a market hampered by a lack of new broadband spectrum.
Vodacom Group upgraded its medium-term operating growth target to mid-to-high-single digit on Tuesday after reporting a 3.7% jump in full-year earnings.
Safaricom of Kenya is holding talks with Amazon.com about the use of mobile money service M-Pesa on the e-commerce giant’s platform.
Kenya’s Safaricom posted a drop in its full-year core earnings as the impact of Covid-19 cut revenue from financial services and calls, though it predicted a recovery based on second-half numbers.
Ethiopia’s decision to exclude mobile money from the terms of two new telecommunications licences cost the government about R7-billion from bid levels, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said.
Ethiopia received bids for telecommunications licences from MTN Group and a consortium led by Vodafone Group, according to Brook Taye, an adviser in the finance ministry.