In his recent interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Matthew Harrison-Harvey, Safaricom Chief Regulatory and External Affairs Officer stated that Safaricom is inspired by the introduction of competition in the telecommunications sector.
It is inspired by the process that the government and the Ethiopian communications authority started to introduce competition in the telecommunications sector four years ago. “We believe that was a very good decision by the government and the authorities. As we have seen in many countries around the world, telecommunications, especially digital services, can have an impact on economies and societies.”
The license offered to Safaricom opens an opportunity for us (Safaricom) to serve Ethiopia in accelerating its digital agenda by increasing connectivity, providing digital services to meet citizens’ needs, creating new digital businesses, and generating new jobs for citizens across the country, the company stated.
In line with the government’s macroeconomic strategy, a ten year development plan which put digital tec as one of the key pillars, is something that inspired our shareholders to participate in the telecoms licensing process. So, it was a very well run process and we were very happy at the end of the process,in May last year to be announced as the winner. We went through the final steps which we had to go through, needed to incorporate a company paid license fee and then we were granted the full license in July last year.
Safaricom is working for digital transformation, digital inclusion and partnerships to build for the long term operation in the sector.
It is currently investing over 300 million USD just to get started and then we are going to be investing another700 million USD next year. And so currently, we are importing the entire 300 million USD worth of equipment into the country. So, that is providing the infrastructure ,which enables us to be competent. So, we are investing in our own infrastructure which will then on top of that providing services to customers at the same time like around the world.
Telecom operators need to work together, if this is so, we can do more. Because telecoms infrastructure is a very capital intensive sector and it’s something that is always changing. So if you think about Ethiopia, it used to have 2G, 3G mobile services and now it has got 4G mobile services, and then you’re going to have 5G mobile services. Thus, this requires regular investment.
Hence, the more we can work together to stretch that investment, the more we will be able to provide services throughout the country.
The government has made a very big decision to issue the license and we recognize it as a great decision. Secondly, they’ve done a number of things to assist us working very closely with us to be successful in that so as to meet the expectations of everyone. This, apart from encouraging citizens who will be using our services, the decision introduced competition among telecom companies.
As an organization works in the telecoms sector, it has set goals, mission, targets, as per the desire it aspires to achieve. We have targets in relation to customer numbers, their financial performance, and normal business targets. I think what makes our company special, not worrying about how many customers we have, or how much profits we have. I’ve also measured how many people’s lives have been positively impacted by our services. So I have actual targets which I have to report to our board and our shareholders where we will be measured on how many school children have benefited from digital education. How many doctors and nurses are using digital health services? How many farmers are using digital farms? That’s really nice.
When the government started the process, it planned to build the future. That’s something we see as well. And obviously, the more we build the company, the more people use and love our services, the better for everyone.
“So the government, as I said earlier, they issue a process, a request for proposals for license applications. They did in March 2020. So, they published the request for proposals. It had worked on a long process where they had consulted about the National Strategy for digital. They issued a new proclamation. So there’s a 2019 communications proclamation. Under that, there are 11 directives to basically set the framework, the rules to enable those digital Ethiopia objectives.”
If people are clear about what you’re trying to achieve, they can come together with that goal. And if you’re open minded, you’re looking at solutions to help move things forward. Reading, being open minded, and learning from others is key to face up challenges. So, one of the things that people first told me when I was hired here was to spend time, be very humble, and spend time listening and learning from others to know more about Ethiopia as it’s a very unique and special country. So, our approach is very much focused on understanding what the country needs to achieve and then try and work on solutions to achieve that. If you can’t do it on your own, it has to be done through partnership. When we tried to import equipment pertinent to our work, all the government agencies were cooperative to make it possible in a short period as the objective is clear for all. The key thing here is working in partnership having clear objectives.
Safaricom has experience outside the country as well. It is very experienced in providing telecommunications and financial services in many countries. Its key focus is bringing in talent and employing talented Ethiopians as part of our team and the combination of international and Ethiopian experience is very powerful. The company is going to be an Ethiopian company serving Ethiopians with shareholders who are from different parts of the world.
Digital literacy is critical for all ages, he further stated and adding that so one of the things that his company will do is, to provide the information, the training, the skills on how to use the services through putting together other programs to help customers get more deeper into other digital skills to our employees or staff, our partners and our customers
BY HAFTU GEBREZGABIHER
The Ethiopian Herald 22 April 2022
