“Our operations in conflict areas [in Ethiopia] remain subject to restrictions,” said Vanhelleputte. “We hope this will improve soon,” said Vanhelleputte, who was brought in to replace founding CEO Anwar Soussa last year. Its current network covers 38 percent of the Ethiopian population, according to the Safaricom financial report. Vanhelleputte indicated that security concerns, limited access to smartphones, and regulatory shortcomings continue to pose obstacles to Safaricom’s ambitions as Ethiopia’s first private telecoms operator. Mobile data revenues from Safaricom Ethiopia’s 4.4 million users account for close to 75 percent of the total.

Source: Ethiopian News May 09, 2024 15:36 UTC