Leading Kenyan operator Safaricom is reportedly planning to raise up to $2 billion from local banks and development finance institutions over the next five years to fund its new Safaricom Ethiopia operation. Part of the proposed funding will also be raised internally and through rental financing from equipment vendors. According to the East African news service, Safaricom has so far invested $540 million in Ethiopia, which includes a license payment of $470 million. It’s now nearly a year since Safaricom, through the Global Partnership for Ethiopia (GPE) consortium, was awarded an operator licence by the Ethiopian government. The consortium became Safaricom Telecommunication Ethiopia Plc (STE), in which Safaricom owns 55.71%, Vodacom Group Ltd 6.19%, Sumitomo Corporation 27.2% and CDC Group Plc 10.9%.

Source: Ethiopian News May 16, 2022 13:47 UTC