Ethio Telecom vs. Safaricom: The Telecom Race in Figures

This week, two significant developments emerged as Ethiopia’s telecom operators announced their progress and unveiled new products. The most notable news came from incumbent operator Ethio Telecom, which upgraded its mobile money platform, Telebirr, into a super app.

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On the same day, Safaricom’s public relations manager, Christopher Karanja, shared key figures with Business Daily, a daily business newspaper published in Kenya.

Although Safaricom Ethiopia only began nation wide operations in October last year, making a direct comparison seem unfair, many are interested in monitoring their progress. Shega provides a comparison of their respective user bases as of March 23, 2023.

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Related- Ethio Telecom Transforms Mobile Money Platform Telebirr into Super App

Safaricom has not yet launched its mobile money platform, but Ethio Telecom’s Telebirr is making significant strides. In less than two years, Telebirr has acquired 30 million subscribers, 101 thousand agents, and 28 thousand merchants. The platform has also integrated with 19 commercial banks and generated $1.95 million in international remittance from 44 countries.

Telebirr’s recently launched digital financial services, including Telebirr Mela (micro-credit), have lent 2.1 billion birr to 1.4 million users. Additionally, 400 thousand customers have deposited 1.7 billion birr in Telebirr Sanduq (micro-saving) service.

Safaricom Ethiopia Prices vs Ethio Telecom Prices