Safaricom Chief Executive Officer for the Ethiopian market Anwar Soussa will be exiting the business by end of next month once his secondment comes to an end.
Anwar joined Safaricom Ethiopia in August 2021 to lead the establishment of the organization, set up business operations and roll out network.
As the first CEO of Safaricom Ethiopia, Anwar has overseen attainment of significant milestones in a highly dynamic environment including onboarding the team and launching commercial operations of the second telecommunications operator in Ethiopia.
In a statement, Safaricom says, Anwar has steered the Ethiopian business to acquire over 4 million customers, with the network now covering more than 25 per cent of the population and spread across 50 towns.
Safaricom was awarded a licence to operate telecom services in Ethiopia in May 2021 in a venture expected to create 1.5 million jobs and attract $8.5 billion in investment over the next 8 years.
Safaricom’s Ethiopian subsidiary recorded Sh 562.4 million in service revenue, with total revenue at Sh 1.8 billion in full year financial results ending March 2023. The company expects to roll out M-Pesa services in Ethiopia from the second quarter of this year, positioning it to emerge as a strong player in Ethiopia’s mobile telecommunications industry.
In the first month of its operations into Ethiopia, Safaricom Ethiopia generated Sh 98.3 million. Safaricom Ethiopia Service Revenue for the period ended September 30th 2022, was Sh 9.1 million, while total revenue, including handsets sales, was Sh98.3 million.
“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Anwar for his leadership and contributions to Safaricom Ethiopia. Throughout his tenure he has demonstrated unwavering passion and commitment, which have played a crucial role in our achievement thus far,” said Peter Ndegwa, Safaricom Chief Executive Officer.
“We will announce Anwar successor in due course.”
Anwar Soussa to Lead Safaricom’s Subsidiary in Ethiopia – Kenyan Wallstreet
