The Group's financial statement is negatively impacted by the increasing initial investment cost in the country, despite
Safaricom Ethiopia's performance was included in the Group's annual report presented to shareholders in
"The potential for
Safaricom Ethiopia's total revenue was
"This indicates two things. The size of the operation in
Abdulmenan asserts that
"If Safaricom Ethiopia profits, the Group in
According to
Together with a consortium of international investors,
To date, shareholders of the
The Group anticipates 3,000 network sites by the end of 2024 and up to 12,000 network sites in 10 years, compared to approximately 1,300 network sites at present. Safaricom Ethiopia will construct half of the network sites, and ethio telecom will co-locate the remaining sites. Currently, Ethio telecom has 7,000 network sites, while Safaricom Kenya has 6,000. Construction is currently ongoing on 379 sites for Safaricom Ethiopia.
Safaricom Ethiopia raised its 90-day voice customers to two million, its data customers to 1.4 million, and its messaging customers to 700,000. However, data services generated four times more revenue than voice data services. It intends to reach 10 million customers by the end of the fiscal year 2023-2024.
Although the Ethiopian market has yet to generate a profit, it has resulted in unexpected gains for
In a statement issued on
However,
"
"We do not look at the hyperinflation impact as a major issue. The ups and downs of hyperinflation will not affect our shareholders. We focus on increasing the investment profile in
Abdulmenan concurs that the Ethiopian government made a grave error in issuing the statement denying the existence of hyperinflation. He asserts that hyperinflation is a financial term and not an economic one.
"From an economic standpoint, Ethiopian officials misunderstood it. Since inflation has been above 34 percent for the past three years in a row, the three-year cumulative is above 100 percent," Abdulmenan said, explaining that according to international standards, if the three-year cumulative is above 100%, hyperinflation exists.
He asserts that Ethiopian officials are politicizing the issue while the facts are readily available. "But after all, it is an accounting gain just on paper. There is no tangible money that went to
The Group also anticipates adding new shareholders, including the
"We have been negotiating with the IFC for quite some time. Currently, we are in the final stages of negotiations. They expressed interest in investing in equity as well as debt," Pal said. The IFC had planned equity funding of up to
"They will come in as a minority shareholder. Hence, the shareholder structure will dilute," added Pal.
In the coming months, MPESA will launch its service products on the Ethiopian market, where it is expected to face stiff competition from the government-owned telebirr.
"Our team has been preparing for the MPESA Ethiopia. The technology platform required to launch the MPESA Ethiopia products is already ready," Ndegwa said.
According to him, the company was only awaiting registration and payment of the license.
"Now, we can go to agreements with various partners. This includes banks, distributors, and others. Mobile money starts by creating networks. That will allow people to deposit, withdraw, and transfer money. International money transfer, merchants, and other value-added products will be launched," Ndegwa explained.
MPESA products, according to him, will be tailored to the values of the Ethiopian population.
The performance of Safaricom Ethiopia has also been negatively impacted by the government's social media Internet blockades.
"Regarding the social media blockade, there is no denying there are interruptions in
Business, according to him, will go back to normal once the blockade is over.
"It will not affect us to a huge degree. Obviously, these things slow you down, but it is not a huge shock by any standard. It will not hold us down, but it is a little headwind. We believe it is something manageable until the tensions calm down," Soussa explained.
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