PM Abiy Says Telecom Liberalization towards Dawn of New Era in Ethiopia

April 9/2021(ENA)Ethiopia’s decision to liberalize the telecom sector will enable it to address several binding constraints across the economy including in critical sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, logistics, education, tourism, and manufacturing, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said.

In an exclusive interview with Telecom Review Africa, Premier Abiy said the main objectives of the telecom liberalization process are underpinned by the country's ambition to drive economic growth through utilizing the fruits of technology.

Ethiopia aspires to be an African beacon of prosperity and has embraced this vision through its National Ten-Year Perspective Plan.

Universal and reliable connectivity is a crucial element of digitizing the economy, Abiy said, adding “connectivity is expected to pay vast dividends in terms of market access, service delivery and payments for Ethiopians from all walks of life as well as the Government and businesses that look to serve them.”

Currently, the Ethiopian telecom market is controlled by a single operator with several legacy issues and as such, it lacks the capital and the expertise that are needed to advance its services, he noted.  

According to Abiy, with the liberalization process, the entry of the two new telecom operators will introduce competition in the marketplace and expand the ICT sector to become one of the major economic growth drivers in the country.

The Premier emphasized “the digital sector is both a source of growth and a key competitive enabler of other productive sectors.”

“The digital future is already here. Our risk-taker youth-capable and hopeful, connected and technology savvy-is busy at work addressing problems as diverse as public service delivery, health care, digital finance with entrepreneurial flair and ingenuity” Abiy elaborated.

The government aims to leverage the ICT sector in the forms of service export, manufacturing, and agriculture that Ethiopia has a competitive advantage, he added.

“Our renewed focus in the digital economy has started to attract large investments in the ICT Park mainly around data centers, digital innovation and training centers, device manufacturing plants and business process outsourcing companies hiring hundreds of people,” he pointed out.

Moreover, the liberalization provides an enormous opportunity for Ethiopia to leverage the technical and operational knowhow of the large international potential entrants. 

The liberalization process is just the starting point for realizing Ethiopia’s ambitious digitization agenda, Abiy noted.

Abiy stressed “once the infrastructure is in place, the government and private sector can then provide valuable digital services across critical sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, logistics, education, tourism and manufacturing that will drive efficiencies in these areas and provide a much more inclusive economy.”

Ethiopia is one of Africa’s thriving markets with a solid digital strategy that will place the country in a strategic position and has a clear vision that puts ICTs and telecommunications at the heart of economic growth and prosperity objectives.