Ethio Telecom, Ethiopia’s state-owned telecommunications giant, reported robust financial and operational performance for the fiscal year ending June 2025, posting revenues of 162 billion birr and expanding its customer base to 83.2 million. The results, announced at the Science Museum in Addis Ababa, mark a 72.9% revenue increase from the prior year and cap the company’s three-year Lead Growth Strategy (2022-2025), which doubled revenues to 331.5 billion birr since the previous strategic period.

The company’s growth was driven by aggressive infrastructure expansion and digital innovation. Ethio Telecom deployed 1,683 new mobile sites, nearly half in rural areas, pushing mobile network population coverage to 99.4% and geographical coverage to 86.5%. Its 4G network now reaches 70.8% of the population, up from 37.5% a year ago, with services extended to 936 cities. The rollout of 5G to 26 cities and 306 Massive MIMO sites further bolstered data capacity. Fixed network upgrades included 305,894 new Optical Distribution Network connections, bringing total capacity to 951,982, while 24,123 customers were migrated to fibre under a copper phase-out initiative.

Ethio Telecom’s telebirr mobile money platform, a cornerstone of Ethiopia’s digital economy push, grew to 54.84 million users, processing 2.38 trillion birr in transactions. Partnerships with banks enabled 6.88 million customers to access 13.22 billion birr in micro-loans, with 1.77 million saving 11.24 billion birr digitally. The platform’s SuperApp, with over 8 million users, now hosts 68 mini-apps, including recently introduced Zemen Gebeya e-commerce marketplace.

Financially, the company achieved a 76 billion birr EBITDA (profit before major expenses) , up 84% from the prior strategy period, while saving 11.3 billion birr through cost efficiencies. It generated $213.6 million in foreign currency, primarily from international services, and paid 43.8 billion birr in taxes and 12.6 billion birr in dividends to the government. Over three years, total foreign currency earnings reached $575.76 million.

Ethio Telecom also advanced Ethiopia’s digital transformation, registering 11 million citizens for the National Digital ID programme and issuing 9.7 million Fayda numbers. Its corporate social responsibility efforts included 450.23 million birr in contributions, with significant allocations to education and humanitarian causes, alongside planting 446,000 seedlings.

Despite challenges such as infrastructure damage, regulations and reforms, foreign exchange shortages, and telecom fraud, Ethio Telecom mitigated risks through government partnerships and robust cybersecurity, preventing over 461,152 cyber-attacks. The company’s strategic focus on affordability, with price reductions since 2018, and job creation for over 1 million citizens through partnerships underscored its role as a national economic driver.