By now, we are aware that Safaricom is in Ethiopia. The telco is insanely popular locally and has exported its success to other parts of the world with a ton of products and services, the main one being the mobile money product, M-PESA.
The Ethiopia bid was a tough one. It took a long time to examine, and following a higher investment over rivals (it reportedly bid $850 million), Safaricom, which is supported by other partners (Vodacom Group, Sumitomo Corporation, and CDC Group) named Global Partnership for Ethiopia (GPE), was finally given a go-ahead to launch in Ethiopia. This happened in May 2021.
Safaricom has since been asked to deploy 4G services in the country by 2023. The partners will further invest $8.5 billion over the next decade. The investment should see the transaction create 1.1 million jobs for Ethiopians.
With the details out of the way, Safaricom has today reported that it has started a country-wide recruitment exercise in Ethiopia. The exercise seeks to pick key leaders that should guide it to its visions and missions. In the same breath, Safaricom says that the process shows its commitment to the country’s digital future prior to commercial launch.
The announcement follows Safaricom CEO’s visit to Ethiopia this week. Mr. Peter Ndegwa was at the Safaricom Ethiopia’s new offices.
According to Anwar Soussa, the recently appointed Managing Director of Safaricom Ethiopia, the company has started hiring Ethiopian nationals for technology, commercial and corporate functions in various capacities, ranging from executive management to graduate-level opportunities.
Furthermore, Safaricom Ethiopia says that it is planning to recruit 450 graduates over the next three years in the global development program named “Discover Graduate Management Programme”. The graduates will undergo accelerated learning rotations across different functions in the business as well as extensive leadership coaching and mentorship programs.
Quotes
The Global Partnership for Ethiopia is proud to be investing in Ethiopia and thanks to the Government of Ethiopia and other key partners for their support in the initial preparations for commercial launch. Such partnerships are the building blocks of digital transformation, and I would like to thank all our partners for their support as we work towards enabling our commercial launch and contribution to digital Ethiopia as a purpose-led technology company. – Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa
Our ongoing recruitment process is intentionally guided by the promise of a digital future for the people of Ethiopia. By June next year, we aim to build a team of 1000 employees driven by innovation and digital solutions. We will also offer all employees comprehensive digital training packages through our #1moreskill training program – a gateway to new skills in the digital economy. We believe young people are the key to delivering the digital Ethiopia ambitions and with our global Discover Graduate Management Programme, we will create a pool of talent of digital innovators who will grow with the business to achieve this. – Anwar Soussa, Managing Director of Safaricom Ethiopia.
