Ethiopia's most capitalised state-owned enterprise, Ethio telecom plans to facilitate the transaction of 3.5 trillion Birr through Telebirr in the next five years, the telecom giant announced. Garnering 2.5 million customers so far, Ethio telecom hopes its new platform will account for 40pc to 50pc of transactions in Ethiopia by 2025. The platform was launched three weeks ago with a plan of registering 33.7 million subscribers in a year. "Our progress indicates we can achieve even beyond our target," said Frehiwot Tamiru, chief executive officer of Ethio telecom, which owns 285,000 distribution centres, adding to the establishment of 1,500 centres dedicated to Telebirr services. Serving 52.8 million mobile voice subscribers and 24 million internet users, Ethio telecom has recently expanded its 4G LTE network to 33 towns across the country, achieving a third of its plan. In 2022, it has a target to introduce the 5G network to Ethiopia.

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