Sumitomo will offer mobile services in Ethiopia through a consortium with Vodafone, making Sumitomo the first Japanese company to enter the African market.
(Source: Reuters) Sumitomo Corp. (Japan) will provide mobile service in Ethiopia through a consortium with a telecommunications service provider Vodafone Group (United Kingdom). The move will make Sumitomo the first Japanese company to enter the African market. Ethiopia has approved a license for the consortium on mobile service providers in the country. It is expected that Sumitomo will hold about 30% of the shares in the new business and invest about 8 billion USD in 10 years, including investment capital for base stations. This will be the largest foreign direct investment on record in Ethiopia. According to the plan, service delivery will begin in 2022. Ethiopia is one of the largest countries in Africa, with 112 million inhabitants. According to statistics, when the rate of mobile phone usage is only about 40%, the new consortium has seen growth opportunities in this country. In addition to mobile services, the consortium also plans to launch services in areas such as digital currency, education, and health information technology. The announcement of the cooperation between Sumitomo and Vodafone comes amid concerns in Japan, the US and the UK about the trend of Chinese companies such as Huawei Technologies and ZTE building much of Africa’s telecommunications infrastructure.
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