Safaricom group taps Sh55bn loan for Ethiopia entry
Monday December 21 2020
By VICTOR JUMA
Summary
Safaricom and its parent companies Vodafone Group Plc and Vodacom Group Limited have formed a joint venture – Global Partnership for Ethiopia — through which they are bidding for one of two telecommunications licences being auctioned in that country.
The financial investment in Ethiopia is expected to top the $1 billion (Sh111 billion) mark, with the DFC loan deal seen as part of the project’s fundraising efforts.
Safaricom had earlier said it was ready to take more debt in its role as the majority shareholder of the consortium with a 51 percent stake.