Ethiopia Telecom Market

Ethiopia Telecom Market Overview:

The Ethiopia telecom market size reached USD 2.32 Billion in 2024. The market is projected to reach USD 4.93 Billion by 2033, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 7.83% during 2025-2033. The market is driven by increasing mobile penetration rates, government telecom liberalization policies, and the growing demand for data services across urban and rural areas. Besides this, the ongoing infrastructure development is attracting international technology partners and investors, fueling the Ethiopia telecom market share.

Ethiopia Telecom Market Trends:

Digital Infrastructure Modernization Initiatives

Through extensive projects to modernize the digital infrastructure, Ethiopia's telecom market is undergoing an unparalleled transition. The market landscape is being shaped by the government's commitment to deploying 4G/5G technology, upgrading aging systems, and growing fiber optic networks. Nationwide, significant infrastructure investments are concentrated on building data centers, enhancing network dependability, and connecting rural towns. In September 2024, Ethio Telecom was set to establish a hyperscale data center in Ethiopia. In partnership with Shandong Hi-Speed Group Co. Ltd, the firm aimed to enhance Ethiopia's digital infrastructure. In addition to enhancing service quality, these modernization initiatives are opening new digital services, boosting the expansion of e-commerce, and promoting digital financial inclusion. In order to address the needs of Ethiopia's diversified population, infrastructure development is attracting international investors and technological partners, encouraging the use of innovative service delivery methods and state-of-the-art telecom technologies.

Mobile Financial Services Expansion

The broadening of mobile financial services is bolstering the Ethiopia telecom market growth. With limited penetration of traditional banking, mobile financial services, such as mobile money, digital wallets, and mobile-based microloans, are offering millions of Ethiopians, especially those in rural and underserved areas, their first access to formal financial platforms. This growing adoption is significantly catalyzing the demand for telecom services, as people continue to rely on mobile networks to perform transactions, pay bills, send remittances, and engage in e-commerce. For telecom operators, mobile financial services are not only boosting average revenue per user (ARPU) but also strengthening customer loyalty by integrating financial solutions with core communication services. The regulatory reforms allowing non-bank institutions and telecom companies to offer mobile money services have further accelerated innovations and competition, making digital financial solutions more accessible and affordable. In addition, partnerships between telecom operators, banks, and fintech startups are expanding service offerings, from basic money transfers to insurance and credit facilities, creating a broader digital ecosystem. In July 2025, Safaricom Ethiopia’s mobile money service M-Pesa and Awash Bank formed a strategic alliance to launch digital financial offerings. The service named “Errif be M-Pesa” provided users with digital credit via their mobile phones, allowing them to buy airtime, pay bills, and conduct merchant transactions even if their M-Pesa wallets lacked sufficient stored value.

Ethiopia Telecom Market Segmentation:

IMARC Group provides an analysis of the key trends in each segment of the market, along with forecasts at the country and regional levels for 2025-2033. Our report has categorized the market based on services.

Services Insights:

• Voice Services
  • Wired
  • Wireless
• Data and Messaging Services
• OTT and Pay-tv Services

A detailed breakup and analysis of the market based on services have also been provided in the report. This includes voice services (wired and wireless), data and messaging services, and OTT and pay-tv services.

Regional Insights:

• Addis Ababa
• Oromia Region
• Amhara Region
• SNNPR Region
• Tigray Region
• Others

The report has also provided a comprehensive analysis of all the major regional markets, which include Addis Ababa, Oromia Region, Amhara Region, SNNPR Region, Tigray Region, and others.

Competitive Landscape:

The market research report has also provided a comprehensive analysis of the competitive landscape. Competitive analysis such as market structure, key player positioning, top winning strategies, competitive dashboard, and company evaluation quadrant has been covered in the report. Also, detailed profiles of all major companies have been provided.

Ethiopia Telecom Market News:

• In August 2025, Ethiopia's state-run telecom company, Ethio Telecom, introduced a fresh three-year plan aimed at transforming the firm into a varied technology supplier. Through ‘Next Horizon,’ Ethio Telecom aspired to expand its subscriber count to 100 Million and boost revenue by 154%, achieving 842.3 Billion birrs.
• In August 2025, Huawei revealed that Ethio Telecom implemented its tri-band massive MIMO solution, which greatly enhanced the telco's 4G network regarding performance and user experience. Launched on a live platform within Ethio Telecom’s network, Huawei's GigaAAU FDD tri-band Massive MIMO solution increased 4G traffic by 70%, and users' average perceived network speed rose by 68%.

Ethiopia Telecom Market Report Coverage:

Key Questions Answered in This Report:

• How has the Ethiopia telecom market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?
• What is the breakup of the Ethiopia telecom market on the basis of services?
• What is the breakup of the Ethiopia telecom market on the basis of region?
• What are the various stages in the value chain of the Ethiopia telecom market?
• What are the key driving factors and challenges in the Ethiopia telecom market?
• What is the structure of the Ethiopia telecom market and who are the key players?
• What is the degree of competition in the Ethiopia telecom market?

Key Benefits for Stakeholders:

• IMARC's industry report offers a comprehensive quantitative analysis of various market segments, historical and current market trends, market forecasts, and dynamics of the Ethiopia telecom market from 2019-2033.
• The research report provides the latest information on the market drivers, challenges, and opportunities in the Ethiopia telecom market.
• Porter's five forces analysis assist stakeholders in assessing the impact of new entrants, competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, and the threat of substitution. It helps stakeholders to analyze the level of competition within the Ethiopia telecom industry and its attractiveness.
• Competitive landscape allows stakeholders to understand their competitive environment and provides an insight into the current positions of key players in the market.