Telecom Privatization in Africa and Ethiopia

Over the last decade, Africa's telecom services have been expanding. However, this expansion has not kept pace with the rising demand. With a population of over a billion people and growing, there is an obvious need to connect. African governments have taken a variety of measures to meet this ever-increasing demand. However, poor policymaking and various administrative issues have left African nations with debt-ridden economies and unmet needs.

The arrival of COVID-19, however, has brought a silver lining to Africa. So far, the continent has proven resilient, with comparatively low infection and death rates. Although lockdown procedures and travel restrictions have highly affected different sectors of African markets, the telecom sector has grown stronger. The pandemic has brought unprecedented growth in data usage. In 2020, 477million Africans were unique mobile users, of which more than half have access to the internet. This figure is expected to rise, with Africa reaching 50% mobile penetration by 2025.