Ethio Telecom said it will require more than one billion US dollars in foreign currency during the current fiscal year to finance large-scale network and digital infrastructure projects, highlighting mounting pressure from Ethiopia’s persistent forex shortage.

Africa’s oldest telecom operator made the disclosure on Thursday during a media briefing in Addis Ababa, where the state-owned company presented its first-half performance for the 2025/26 Ethiopian fiscal year.

The telecom’s Chief executive Frehiwot Tamiru said the company’s investment requirements have grown beyond what domestic banks can support.

“The foreign currency available through the banking system does not meet Ethio Telecom’s demand,” she told reporters. “Our infrastructure programme requires financing at a scale that exceeds current supply.”

She said the company has begun discussions with international financial institutions and global lenders to secure external funding needed for network rollout, system upgrades and digital capacity expansion.

Frehiwot also said recent changes in Ethiopia’s foreign exchange framework have exposed the company to currency valuation losses.

“This is not a problem related to operations or service delivery,” she said. “It is a result of policy adjustments in the foreign exchange system.”

She added that the telecom operator remains vulnerable to exchange-rate volatility and that the issue requires solutions at the policy level rather than internal corrective measures.

Despite the funding constraints, Ethio Telecom reported strong financial performance during the first six months of the fiscal year.

Revenue reached 85.02 billion birr, an 81 percent increase from 62.06 billion birr recorded in the same period last year.

Data traffic rose 46.6 percent during the period, reflecting accelerating demand for digital services and mobile connectivity.

The company also generated 88.19 million US dollars in foreign currency earnings, up 83 percent from the same period of the previous fiscal year.

Network expansion continued, with total mobile sites reaching 10,288 across 133 towns. During the six-month period, 278 new sites were added, including 130 built in rural areas.

Ethio Telecom said its total subscriber base has reached 87 million users.

Its mobile money platform, Telebirr, added four million customers in six months, bringing the total user base to 58 million.

During the period, 4.2 million customers accessed loans worth 8.6 billion birr through the platform.

The company said it paid 35.62 billion birr in taxes during the first half of the fiscal year, maintaining its position as one of the largest contributors to government revenue.