President Ruto to grace the launch of Safaricom Ethiopia
President William Ruto is today slated to attend Safaricom Ethiopia’s launch in Addis Ababa.
Ruto has been invited as a Guest of Honour, together with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
Anwar Soussa, Chief Executive Officer of Safaricom Ethiopia, Peter Ndegwa, CEO of Safaricom PLC, and Michael Joseph, Chairman of Safaricom Ethiopia will also attend the event.
Ruto is expected to open the Safaricom outlet in what will be his first ever state visit in Africa since his inauguration.
The company’s commercial activities in Ethiopia will be part of its regional expansion initiatives to provide world-class telecommunications services to over 112 million Ethiopians. Ethio Telecom, a state-owned company, currently dominates the nation.
According to Safaricom, the company has onboarded distributors, acquired four retail shop locations, and established Addis Ababa’s first outsourced call center. Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa stated in May that Safaricom Ethiopia intends to bring mobile finance services to Ethiopia.
The company stated that by June of next year, it aims to have a staff of 1000 employees driven by innovation and digital solutions. The corporation is also planning to provide complete digital training packages to all employees through a skills training program.
In addition, the company plans to hire 450 graduates over the next three years for the “Discover Graduate Management Programme,” a global development program. The graduates will participate in accelerated learning rotations across several company functions, as well as rigorous leadership coaching and mentorship programs.
Ruto’s visit also coincides with an upswing in the conflict in Tigray. Former Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta and Olusegun Obasanjo are slated to lead Ethiopia-Tigray peace talks in South Africa on Sunday.