Ethiopia awarded a new telecommunication license to a consortium including the UK’s Vodafone Group, paving the way for a long-awaited opening of the sector to outside investors. The consortium submitted a bid of $850 million for the permit, according to people who declined to be identified. “The company will enter a commitment of creating 1.1 million jobs in 10 years and cover the country with a 4G service by 2023,” Taye said. The other was from MTN, Vodacom’s Johannesburg rival, and partners including the Silk Road Fund, a Chinese state investment group. But certain conditions of the auction weakened the proposition, namely the requirement to use state-owned telecom towers and an initial block on issuing mobile-money licenses.

Source: News 24 May 22, 2021 10:52 UTC