Ethiopia’s state-owned telecom operator Ethio Telecom is seeking financial backing from Italy to help fund major investments tied to its digital development strategy.
The company has approached Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), Italy’s public development bank, to explore possible financing for its digital infrastructure projects.
According to Ecofin Agency, Chief Executive Frehiwot Tamru, along with members of the company’s management team, met officials from the institution in Rome on March 12.
During the meeting, the Ethiopian delegation held discussions with CDP representatives, including Carlo Rossotto, director of development cooperation and international institutional relations.
The talks focused on funding options to support Ethio Telecom’s three-year strategy titled “Next Horizon: Digital & Beyond.”
The strategy aims to significantly expand and modernize the country’s telecom networks while developing digital and cloud infrastructure.
It also includes plans to expand innovative digital platforms and strengthen financial services such as Telebirr. In addition, the company plans to launch new digital ecosystem projects designed to support Ethiopia’s broader economic transformation.
Through this strategy, Ethio Telecom aims to improve customer retention and grow its active user base while strengthening its competitive position against new market entrant Safaricom, which recently began operations in Ethiopia’s telecom sector.
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As part of the expansion plan, the operator intends to increase 4G coverage to 85% of the population, up from about 70% currently. It also plans to roll out 5G services in ten more cities.
These investments are expected to add 7.6 million new mobile capacity slots, raising the network’s total capacity to 112.4 million connections.
With these upgrades, Ethio Telecom expects its total number of service users to reach 100 million. The projection includes 88 million mobile subscribers, 67.3 million mobile broadband users, 1.6 million fixed broadband subscribers, and 75 million users of mobile financial services.
Over the next three years, the company expects the strategy to generate 842.3 billion Ethiopian birr (about $5.37 billion) in revenue. This would represent 154% growth compared with the previous strategic cycle.
Most of the revenue increase is expected to come from core telecom services, though the company also anticipates additional growth from fintech services, device sales, enterprise solutions and other digital services.
Despite the discussions, the potential partnership is still at an early stage. Following the meeting, both sides agreed to move cooperation forward after completing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) between Ethio Telecom and CDP.
The agreement will establish a formal framework that allows both organizations to continue discussions and share information.
Under this framework, Ethio Telecom will identify and prioritize a portfolio of strategic projects that require financing and submit the necessary technical, financial and operational documentation for review.
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Image Credit: Birr Metrics
