Safaricom Telecommunication Ethiopia PLC’s CEO Anwar Soussa, will exit the company by the end of July 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 the network.
As the first CEO of Safaricom Ethiopia, Anwar has overseen the 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 that 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 license 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 in the second quarter of 2023, positioning it to emerge as a strong player in Ethiopia’s mobile telecommunications industry.
In the first month of its operations in 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 handset sales, was Sh98.3 million.
“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Anwar Soussa for his leadership and contributions to Safaricom Ethiopia,” said Peter Ndegwa, Safaricom’s Chief Executive Officer.
“Throughout his tenure, he has demonstrated unwavering passion and commitment, which have played a crucial role in our achievement thus far.”
“We will announce Anwar’s successor in due course.”