Ethio Telecom has set a target of generating Birr 295 billion in revenue during the 2026/27 fiscal year as it enters the second year of its three year “Next Horizon: Digital & Beyond Strategy.”
The revenue target represents an increase of Birr 80 billion, or 36 percent, from the previous fiscal year, according to the company.
Chief Executive Officer Frehiwot Tamiru said Ethio Telecom successfully completed the first year of the strategy, which is designed to transform the company from a traditional telecommunications operator into a broader technology driven enterprise.
The three year strategy focuses on expanding digital financial services, cloud solutions, digital platforms, enterprise technologies and other technology based services alongside the company’s core connectivity business.
During the first year of the strategy, Ethio Telecom’s customer base reached about 90 million, while the number of telebirr users approached 61 million.
Under its second year business plan, the company expects its total telecom customer base to grow by 6.7 percent to 96.2 million, moving closer to its three year target of 100 million customers.
Mobile data and internet users are projected to increase by 16.5 percent to 60.01 million.
Ethio Telecom is also targeting 67.69 million telebirr users during the fiscal year. The value of transactions conducted through the mobile money platform is expected to reach Birr 7.4 trillion, while the number of transactions is projected to reach 4.99 billion.
Digital microloans provided through telebirr are expected to increase from Birr 19.51 billion to Birr 35.04 billion.
The company plans to drive revenue growth through telebirr, cloud services, e-commerce, Zemen Market and other digital business segments.
It is also targeting more than USD 253 million in foreign currency revenue from international operations, including infrastructure-sharing and international remittance services.
Infrastructure expansion remains another major component of the plan. Ethio Telecom intends to build 5,417 additional 4G sites and increase 4G population coverage from 82.23 percent to 95 percent.
The company also plans to expand 4G services to 1,500 towns and extend its 5G network from 33 towns to 73 towns, bringing the total number of 5G sites to 648.
Ethio Telecom said it will further expand rural connectivity and fiber infrastructure, strengthen digital infrastructure capacity and deploy artificial intelligence technologies to improve service quality, operational efficiency and productivity.
The second year of the strategy will also focus on improving customer experience, expanding enterprise connectivity, strengthening international services and accelerating the development of cloud and other digital solutions.
By the end of the 2027/28 fiscal year, Ethio Telecom aims to expand its customer base to 100 million and support more than 2.6 million employment opportunities through its wider technology ecosystem.
The company said its transformation strategy is aligned with Ethiopia’s Digital Ethiopia 2030 agenda and broader efforts to build a more connected and digitally enabled economy.
Source: Sheger FM 102.1 and Ethiopian News Agency
