President Ruto arrives in Ethiopia for Safaricom launch, begins his regional tour
President William Ruto has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the launch of Safaricom project.
He is also expected to hold talks with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali on exploring new areas of cooperation for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
“We are exploring new fronts in our relations with Ethiopia to pursue shared interests, especially in the area of technology, for our mutual prosperity,” Ruto said.
Ruto is also set to travel to Uganda and Tanzania. The agenda for the regional tour includes talks on business and political ties
Safaricom Ethiopia is the subsidiary of Kenya’s largest mobile telco and which will be the first foreign investment in Ethiopia’s telecommunications scene.
The Ethiopia subsidiary is a joint venture involving Safaricom, Vodacom Group, Vodafone Group, Sumitomo Corporation and the British International Investment. Safaricom owns 55.7 per cent of the company.
Safaricom Ethiopia has today switched on its network and services in Addis Ababa and will hold a national launch ceremony, following a successful series of customer network pilots in 10 cities across Ethiopia.
The network is currently available in Dire Dawa, Harar, Haramaya, Adama, Bahir Dar, Bishoftu, Mojo, Debre Birhan, Awoday, Gonder and Addis Ababa and the national network rollout will continue to reach 14 additional cities by April 2023.
“We are pleased to switch on our network and start services in Addis Ababa, and to hold our national launch ceremony. Building on the phased city-by-city customer pilots, we continue to invest in providing network and services to further cities and parts of the country in accordance with the obligations of our Unified Telecommunications Services License. As we prepare to serve all Ethiopians and contribute to transforming lives for a digital future in Ethiopia, I would like to extend my gratitude for the immense support shown to us by the Government of Ethiopia, our shareholders, and partners.” said Anwar Soussa, CEO, Safaricom Ethiopia.
“Today I am delighted for the opportunity for Safaricom Ethiopia to start serving the people of Ethiopia with high-quality telecommunications services. We look forward to sharing our vision of Transforming Lives with Ethiopians, working together to uplift communities, and creating opportunities through the transformative power of the mobile phone. We are optimistic about how the technology and connectivity we are providing will contribute to a digital future and eventually transform people’s lives through digital solutions.” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom.
“The Global Partnership for Ethiopia consortium has worked tirelessly together with the Government of Ethiopia to reach this exciting moment in Ethiopia’s history as the country embarks upon a fully digitalized era. I would like to congratulate Safaricom Ethiopia and all management, staff and partners involved in reaching this milestone as we seek to connect every Ethiopian to the global digital economy. Ubiquitous network connectivity will positively transform the lives of Ethiopians throughout the country, notably by making various Tech for Good solutions and services available in health, education, manufacturing, agriculture and digital finance.” said Shameel Joosub, Group CEO, Vodacom.
