In a high-level strategic meeting in Addis Ababa on Friday, Mr Mohammed Assoweh, Director General of Djibouti Telecom, and Frehiwot Tamru, CEO of Ethio Telecom, reviewed their long-standing partnership and discussed potential new avenues for cooperation in the quickly changing East African digital ecosystem.
The talks aimed to strengthen regional digital integration by accelerating the implementation of the previously agreed-upon “Horizon Fibre” tripartite initiative from Djibouti Telecom’s side, a strategic collaboration between Ethio Telecom, Djibouti Telecom, and Sudatel, and strengthening cooperation in key areas like international gateway partnerships, interconnectivity, mobile money, enterprise solutions, and roaming services.
Ethio Telecom’s ambitious three-year transformation plan
Frehiwot emphasised Ethio Telecom’s ambitious three-year transformation plan, “Next Horizon: Digital & Beyond 2028,” highlighting the company’s dedication to forming strong alliances that promote innovation, digital inclusion, and long-term growth throughout the continent.
She highlighted Ethiopia’s enormous market size, unmatched infrastructure potential, impressive customer base growth, expanding internet coverage, and the revolutionary effects of Telebirr, its flagship mobile money platform, which is speeding up financial inclusion on a large scale.
To open up new avenues for regional connectivity and quicken Africa’s digital transformation process, the CEO also highlighted the exponential growth in International Gateway (IGW) traffic and the necessity of utilising the long-standing partnership to extend cooperation into dynamic business models, such as cooperation on submarine cable equity and investment.
Djibouti Telecom’s strong commitment to the partnership
Mr Mohammed Assoweh reiterated Djibouti Telecom’s strong commitment to the partnership, describing it as an example of strategic cooperation among African operators.
He commended Telebirr’s quick development and pointed out Djibouti Telecom’s ability to meet Ethiopia’s growing IGW demands, pointing to it as a potential area for future cross-border digital financial cooperation.
Both businesses reaffirmed their shared goal of making sure that the people of both countries can benefit from digital advancement, reiterating their positions as trailblazing facilitators of Africa’s digital future.
After the meeting, the Djibouti Telecom delegation moved around Ethio Telecom’s Digital Experience Centre, looking at state-of-the-art solutions in digital healthcare, e-education, and smart agriculture, demonstrating how technology can revolutionise inclusive socioeconomic development throughout the continent.