In May, the Ethiopian Telecommunication Authority (ECA) issued a statement announcing that the country would now be open to selling a 40% stake in the state-owned company, Ethio Telecom. However, it looks as though this opportunity was short-lived as the ECA has since suspended its plans to privatize the telco. According to TechNext, Africa’s oldest telco supplies more than 40 million of 115 million Ethiopians with mobile network and Internet services. “The shutting out of potential private equity investors in Ethio Telecom will impact the number of its mobile subscribers and the extent of its mobile broadband penetration. “To be honest with you, I had never thought that it would reach this stage,” Tewolde told AFP in an interview this week.

Source: Ethiopian News August 21, 2020 14:34 UTC