Sumitomo Corporation, a Japanese stakeholder in Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia Plc, has obtained political risk insurance for its investment, Capital Newspaper reported. The ten-year policy, provided by the African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI) and supported by Japan’s Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), covers risks such as asset confiscation, currency inconvertibility, and contract breaches.

Safaricom Ethiopia, which received its first mobile network licence in 2021, counts Sumitomo, Vodacom, Vodafone Group, and other founding members among its shareholders. The investment is among the largest Japanese-backed projects in Africa and represents the biggest FDI in Ethiopia to date.

The announcement was made at a side meeting during the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), focused on mobilising Japanese private sector investment in Africa. ATIDI chief executive Manuel Moses described the deal as a model for reducing investment risks and unlocking the continent’s infrastructure potential.

NEXI, which is expected to become an ATIDI shareholder in 2023, is expanding support for Japanese companies entering African markets. In parallel, ATIDI signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group to provide broader risk mitigation, combining insurance guarantees with capital mobilisation.

Ankit Khandelwal, MUFG director for African sovereigns and development finance institutions, said the initiative aligns with TICAD9 objectives to improve infrastructure quality, accelerate energy transitions, and strengthen public-private partnerships.