A Safaricom-led consortium is gearing up to deploy telecommunications services to the Ethiopian market from next year.

The consortium, Global Partnership for Ethiopia, was awarded the coveted nationwide full-service Telecommunications Service Operator Licence in Ethiopia.

Global Partnership for Ethiopia, which also comprises partners Vodacom Group; Vodafone Group; Sumitomo Corporation; and CDC Group, will establish a new operating company to start to start providing telecommunications services from 2022.

In May last year, the Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) called for expressions of interest for two new nationwide telecommunications licences in Ethiopia, which is home to over 112-million people, in addition to the existing licence held by Ethio Telecom.

The significant milestone forms part of Ethiopia’s Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda to introduce competition into the sector and increase access to reliable and efficient communications services for all Ethiopians, leading to improvements in quality of life and in connectivity to support rapid economic transformation, and to maximise the opportunity presented by the digital economy, the ECA said at the time.

The Global Partnership for Ethiopia partnership was one of two shortlisted bidders for the licence, the other being South African telecommunications giant MTN Group, supported by Chinese investment fund the Silk Road Fund.

According to media reports, Global Partnership for Ethiopia submitted a bid of $850-million, while MTN offered $600-million.

Bloomberg quoted Ministry of Finance senior adviser Brook Taye as saying that the sale of the second permit has been called off. However, there are plans to invite fresh bids in due course.

“This decision ushers in a new era of telecommunications service development in our country which will benefit millions of Ethiopians to have access to quality and reliable communication services,” said ECA director-general Eng. Balcha Reba of the bid award.

The consortium will invest $8-billion over the next 10 years, which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said will be the single largest foreign direct investment into Ethiopia to date.

“We are excited for the opportunity to work with the people of Ethiopia to set up telecommunications networks to deliver a digital lifestyle. In past years, we have seen the power of digital transformation and its impact on our customers. We believe by working with all stakeholders in Ethiopia, we can deliver a similar transformation while achieving a sustainable return to our shareholders,” said Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa.