Kenya's Safaricom launches network in Ethiopia as first private operator

Anwar Soussa, Managing Director of Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC, with Safaricom Ethiopia Chairperson Michael Joseph, Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa, and Vodacom group CEO Shameel Joosub, hold Safaricom sim-cards during the Safaricom Ethiopia service launch in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, October 6, 2022. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Kenya's Safaricom launched its mobile network in Ethiopia on Thursday, becoming the first private operator in one of Africa's largest telecoms markets.

State-owned Ethio Telecom has until now enjoyed a monopoly in Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous country with an estimated 118 million people.