Ethiopia to take significant step to open phone market

Ethiopia, the long-isolated African country, will be opened for offers on the phone market. Two new telecommunication licenses mark a new era for the local and international business, Bloomberg News reports.

From Friday, two new telecommunication licenses start to work in Ethiopia. The investors see that as a significant step toward opening the African nation to international operators.

Despite the current armed conflict in the Tigray region, the second-most populous country is developing its business. Ethiopia has been looking to auction the licenses since mid-2018, though the complexity of the process and challenges such as the pandemic have caused a series of delays.

On Friday, the operators will be informed on the terms of the auction and what the government expects from them in terms of financial and technical offerings.

South Africa’s Vodacom Group Ltd. has said it’s monitoring the conflict between the government and Tigray before making its final decision, having earlier said it would bid in a consortium with Vodafone Group Plc and Kenya’s Safaricom Plc. Orange SA is another to have expressed an interest.