Safaricom PLC have released a statement announcing the departure of Anwar Soussa.
Anwar Soussa has been with the telco since April 2021. He has served the company as the first CEO of Safaricom Ethiopia. In the period, he has overseen a number of key company milestones .
Safaricom Ethiopia is the second telecommunications operator in the country. As first CEO, Mr. Anwar oversaw the acquisition of 4 million customers by the operator. Also, Safaricom grew to 50 cities/towns in the country. As a result, the company now covers about 25% of the total population.
Perhaps his biggest achievement is receiving the Payment Instrument Issuer License from the National Bank of Ethiopia. The license enables Safaricom Ethiopia to establish M-Pesa and start providing Mobile Financial Services.
However, he will not be part of the company as they roll out the services in Africa’s second biggest country by population.
Additionally, during Mr. Anwar’s term, the telco also launched the following services:
- Prepay products- Data, Voice, SMS
- Digital EKYC process
- Outsourced call centre – over 500 agents
- Branded range of Safaricom devices – 2G, 4G feature phones, 4G smartphones
- PostPay, VAS products, and digital products on the roadmap
Earlier this month , International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced a $257.4 million (Sh35.88 billion) debt and equity injection in Safaricom Ethiopia.
The investment and guarantees will help Safaricom Ethiopia roll out and operate 4G and 5G mobile networks across the country.
Anwar Soussa Vast Telecommunications Experience
The outgoing CEO has worked for most of his career in the telecommunications sector. He had previously served as the CEO for Airtel Uganda as well as CEO Airtel Chad. He has also served as the Managing Director (MD) for Vodacom Congo.
Previously, he had worked as the Chief Operations Officer (COO) for MTN.
He holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Business Administration and Management from the American College of Greece. Furthermore, he has an MSc, Business Administration and Management from Concordia University.
While he has vast experience in the telecommunications sector, his next career move is not stated. In addition, Safaricom PLC has not announced his replacement.
Anwar Soussa, will leave Safaricom Ethiopia effective 31st July 2023 once his secondment comes to an end.
