The Ethiopian government launched on Monday (June 14th) a call for tenders for the sale of a 40% stake in the public operator Ethio Telecom to private investors. The initiative is part of the liberalization of the economy.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the 40% would be sold as a single stake to a single investor.
“Interested investors can now submit expressions of interest, the first in a series of steps that will lead to the selection of a successful bidder,” said Zinabu Yirga, deputy director of the Detention and Investigation Agency. administration of public enterprises on the sidelines of a press briefing. He added that “the government wants public enterprises to be competitive and productive,” explaining the authorities’ motivation to sell part of Ethio Telecom to private operators.
As part of the wider opening up of the sector, Ethiopia is also preparing to license private operators to compete with Ethio Telecom. Last month, authorities granted the first private operator license to a consortium led by Kenyan (Safaricom, Vodafone) and Japanese Sumitomo.
The telecoms sector in Ethiopia is becoming more and more attractive to investors who intend to conquer a rich market of more than 100 million consumers.
