Ethio Telecom Plans to Enter African Markets

Ethio telecom has unveiled a new three-year strategy that aims to take the 131-year-old operator beyond Ethiopia’s borders. The teleco giant, which earned a total of 331 billion Birr under its recently concluded Lead Growth initiative, announced the plan this morning at the Science Museum in Addis Ababa.

The new strategy, called Next Horizon, embraces a digital-first approach powered by AI. Chief executive Frehiwot Tamiru described it as “a catalyst for digitally empowered growth in Ethiopia and beyond.”

Frehiwot emphasized the company’s ambition to scale into other African markets, saying, “We want to provide digital solutions regionally and beyond.” She also noted that overcoming infrastructure and digital constraints across Sub-Saharan Africa would be crucial for success.

The operator is targeting 100 million customers by 2028, when the Next Horizon strategy concludes, with telebirr expected to reach 75 million users. By the end of the three-year period, Ethio telecom projects telebirr transactions to hit 21.3 trillion Birr from 10.4 billion transaction volumes. The company is also setting its sights on generating 842.3 billion Birr in total revenue by 2028, indicating the scale of its ambitions both at home and in regional markets.

The previous Lead Growth Strategy delivered record-breaking revenues, sustained market dominance, and a major expansion of digital finance through telebirr. It also saw the company broaden its portfolio to more than 350 services, expand infrastructure, and launch new ventures such as e-commerce and Ethiopia’s first state-owned IPO.

In the first year of the new strategy, Ethio telecom plans to build 1,228 new cell towers, including 322 in rural areas, while working toward covering 99 percent of Ethiopia’s geography with 4G internet by the end of the three-year period. The operator also intends to convert up to 500 sites annually to green energy sources, provide 3.5 million devices to expand digital access, and grow its customer base to 88 million subscribers.

Ethio telecom further aims to expand the reach of its mobile money platform, increasing telebirr’s customer base to 62.5 million in the coming year. The company projects telebirr transaction values will climb to 4.43 trillion Birr with a transaction volume of 1.94 billion. Alongside this, Ethio telecom is targeting 235 billion Birr in revenue and hopes to generate $225.9 million in foreign currency earnings. According to the CEO, the revenue target includes potential earnings from regional expansion.