Ethio Telecom has reported strong growth in its customer base and digital financial services, according to its six-month performance report for the 2018 fiscal year, presented to journalists on Tuesday.

Speaking at the briefing, Ethio Telecom Chief Executive Officer Frehiwot Tamiru said the company has undertaken major infrastructure upgrades to support up to 108 million mobile network subscribers nationwide.

Ethio Telecom currently serves 87.1 million customers, representing an 8.2 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Of this total, voice service users account for 84 million subscribers. The company also reported that 13.3 million previously unserved citizens received training on how to use Ethio Telecom’s services during the reporting period.

During the first half of the fiscal year, Ethio Telecom provided a total of 204 services, including 81 new products launched within the last six months.

Telebirr, the company’s mobile money platform, continued its rapid expansion. Since its launch, Telebirr has attracted 58.61 million users and facilitated transactions totaling 6.88 trillion birr. In the past six months alone, transactions amounted to 1.94 trillion birr.

Ethio Telecom noted that Telebirr operates in partnership with multiple financial institutions. Through these collaborations, 16.19 million customers have accessed credit services, while total savings mobilized through the platform reached 34.41 billion birr, according to Bisrat Radio.