The latest World Bank Ethiopia Telecom Market Assessment Report shows that Safaricom’s entry into Ethiopia has reshaped the country’s telecom market.
- It has driven down prices, expanded 4G coverage, and pushed millions online.
- Yet, three years in, the company is still bleeding cash: Its FY2024 losses hit US$325 million (KSh 42.0 billion) against revenue of only US$53.6 million (KSh 6.9 billion), making its Ethiopian venture both a reform catalyst and a financial warning.
- Safaricom Ethiopia launched in October 2022 as the country’s first private telecom operator, breaking Ethio Telecom’s decades-long monopoly.
Market Disruptor, Not Yet a Winner
The firm paid US$1 billion (KSh 129.2 billion) for its license and has since invested over ETB 300 billion (about US$2.2 billion, KSh 284.3 billion) in network rollout and infrastructure.
The payoff is visible: data prices have fallen 70% since 2017, and mobile broadband users have more than doubled to 87 million.
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