Ethio Telecom Rolls Back Incentives

Jan 16 , 2021


Ethio telecom, the nation's sole telecom service provider, has lowered its incentive commission fee for distributors of Electronic Voucher Distribution (EVD) by 2.5 percentage points. The new arrangement, effective January 1, 2021, is half of its previous commission fees. Under the new terms, the basic commission fee of 11pc active before introducing the new arrangement, will remain intact. The incentive package was initially designed to last six months, according to Ephrem Arefaye, chief marketing officer at Ethio telecom, who stated that the telecom operator plans to stop giving incentives once the market is familiarised with the service.  In addition to Yimulu, the electronic top-up service, the incentives played a huge role in reaching targets, with 81pc of printed EVD tickets sold and 66pc of them being used, according to Mohammed Haji, chief sales officer at the company. Currently, around 90 licensed EVD distributors operate in the country with the voucher service operational for over a year. Following the telecom sector's opening up for foreign investment, two new companies, expected to join Ethio telecom soon, will receive a 15-year operator license, enabling them to provide combined services for mobile, internet and fixed-line. With the liberalisation plan, the country will follow a ''2+1 approach,'' in which two operators and the state enterprise provide full telecom services.


Radar

Parliament Nods for Cabinet Appointments

Federal legislators have approved five cabinet-level positions last week with a member of Parliament (MP) voted against and two abstentions were counted. Gedion Timotheos (PhD) leads the charge as the new minister of Foreign Affairs, filling in Taye Asqeselassie's shoes, where he stayed briefly before becoming the country's president. With law degrees from Addis Abeba and Central European universities, Gedion was previously Attorney General and Minister of Justice. Joining him in the redev...


Radar

Abyssinia Group Eyes Expansion with IFC Funding

Abyssinia Group of Industries (AGI), a leading East African steel producer, is poised for significant expansion owing to a proposed investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which is considering a financing package of up to 50 million dollars, including parallel loans in local currency. Headquartered in Kenya, AGI operates two steel plants in Ethiopia, six in Kenya, and has mining activities in Uganda. AGI currently produces 660,000 metric tons of steel annually and employs...


Radar

Fitch Acknowledges Easing Financial Pressures, Enhanced Macroeconomic Stability

Fitch Ratings has upgraded Ethiopia's Long-Term Local-Currency Issuer Default Rating (LTLC IDR) to 'CCC+' from 'CCC-', citing easing financing pressures, improved macroeconomic stability, and increased confidence that local-currency obligations will not be part of the ongoing debt restructuring. This positive development comes as the government implements key reforms and secures renewed concessional external financing. The ratings agency has taken note of the introduction of a market-based ex...


Back
WhatsApp
Telegram
Email