Safaricom Ramps Up Network Expansion with Locally Made Poles

May 25 , 2024

Safaricom Ethiopia has initiated a three-month procurement process to acquire a total of 68 poles from Woda Metal, the first telecom pole manufacturer in the country. The initial batch of 13 poles was delivered last week, marking a milestone as the first use of domestically produced poles in Ethiopia's telecom sector. Wim Vanhellputte, CEO of Safaricom Ethiopia, praised the high quality and affordability of Woda Metal's poles, which will be crucial for their network expansion goals. The company is set to invest two billion dollars over the next two years to establish 7,000 network sites and achieve 85pc national coverage. This ambitious expansion follows its entry into the market with an 850 million dollar license fee and a 600 million dollar investment in network infrastructure.