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ADDIS ABABA — Ethio Telecom has unveiled a sweeping business roadmap for the 2019 Ethiopian Fiscal Year (2026/27), targeting an unprecedented annual revenue of 295 billion Birr as it aggressively accelerates its evolution from a legacy carrier into a full-scale technology powerhouse.
The projected revenue marks a massive 36.7 percent jump—an additional 79.2 billion Birr over the previous year—underpinned by a sharp pivot toward digital services, mobile finance, and next-generation connectivity.
Presenting the annual business plan, Ethio Telecom Chief Executive Officer Frehiwot Tamru detailed the targets as part of the second phase of the company’s broader three-year strategy, “Lead the Future: Digital and Beyond 2028.”
“The core goal of our strategy is transforming our company from a standard telecom operator into a universal technology company (Telco-to-TechCo),” Frehiwot emphasized during the presentation.
A High-Stakes Financial Engine
The state-owned operator expects digital solutions and adjacent tech ventures to drive 26.3 percent of total earnings, generating roughly 77.45 billion Birr. On the global stage, the operator has set its sights on generating 253.7 million USD in foreign exchange.
Beyond top-line growth, the plan delivers substantial windfalls for national coffers. Ethio Telecom projects a dividend contribution of 43.1 billion Birr alongside an estimated 83.8 billion Birr in direct tax payments, cementing its role as Ethiopia’s primary economic driver.
Expanding the Digital Footprint
Under the plan, the carrier expects its total subscriber base to expand by 6.7 percent, reaching 96.2 million users nationwide. The core portfolio targets include:
- 92.3 million mobile voice subscribers
- 60.01 million mobile internet and data users
- 1.26 million fixed broadband connections
To support surging data demand, the company is staging a massive infrastructure overhaul. Ethio Telecom plans to almost double its 4G LTE footprint, scaling from 6,924 sites to 11,014 towers to blanket 95 percent of Ethiopia’s population with high-speed mobile internet.
Ultra-fast 5G connectivity is set to enter 73 cities with 648 dedicated stations, while an aggressive rural inclusion initiative will build 1,685 brand-new sites to bring modern network access to 4.5 million underserved citizens. The country’s international gateway capacity will also climb sharply to 5.2 Terabits per second (Tbps).
The Fintech and Device Ecosystem
The telecom’s mobile money platform, Telebirr, sits at the heart of its commercial ambitions. The user base is projected to reach 67.69 million subscribers, with annual transaction volume anticipated to hit 7.4 trillion Birr. Micro-lending via Telebirr is budgeted to disburse 33.08 billion Birr in credit, while customer savings balances are slated to touch 26.42 billion Birr.
Complementing its financial ecosystem, the company’s fledgling e-commerce venture, Zemen Gebeya, is targeted to record 1.4 billion Birr in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV).
To lower digital adoption barriers for everyday consumers, Ethio Telecom intends to supply 2.6 million smart devices to the market over the year. Notably, this supply includes one million units of the company’s affordable, cloud-based “Nexus” smartphone, purpose-built to get modern mobile internet directly into the hands of mass-market users.
