President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday, June 8, arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for a one-day official visit.
Together with Cabinet Secretaries Raychelle Omamo (Foreign Affairs) and Joe Mucheru (ICT), the president was received by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed at the Bole International Airport.
Other than bi-lateral talks, the president is also expected to witness the presentation of an operating license to the Safaricom consortium.
This is after an international consortium led by Safaricom, and comprising of Vodafone and Vodacom, UK's CDC Group and Japan's Sumitomo Corporation, won a Ksh 91.8 billion bid to operate in Ethiopia.
The license will help the consortium create 1.1 million jobs in 10 years and help the Country with a 4G service by 2023.
In addition, the consortium is expected to reduce poverty and grow the local economy in an inclusive and sustainable manner.
The consortium edged out South Africa's MTN whose bid was Ksh65 billion.
In a statement on May 25, 2021, Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa welcomed the opportunity to work with the people of Ethiopia to set up telecom networks to deliver a digital lifestyle.
"In past years, we have seen the power of digital transformation and its impact on our customers.
"We believe by working with all stakeholders in Ethiopia, we can deliver a similar transformation while achieving a sustainable return to our shareholders," he stated.
The project began in mid-2018 and was seen by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as part of a plan to reform the economy.
However, the project was hit by setbacks among them the Covid-19 pandemic that affected the whole world and delayed elections.
