2025/26 Budget year Annual Business Performance Report

NEXT HORIZON Year One: A Strategy Translated into Results

This is the performance report for the budget year “Next Horizon: Digital & Beyond 2028 Strategy”, covering the period from July 2025 to June 2026.

The 2025/26 budget year marks the successful execution of Year One under Ethio telecom’s “Next Horizon: Digital & Beyond 2028 Strategy”. Designed as a long-term roadmap to accelerate Ethiopia’s digital transformation, this first year was not merely about setting ambitions—it was defined by translating strategic intent into measurable, high-impact results. Across every operational and financial metric, our strategy has yielded concrete outcomes that promote digital inclusion, job creation, and sustainable economic development across the nation.

To ensure disciplined execution and accelerate progress under this vision, the strategy was executed through the framework of the Value Creation Strategic Quadrants across four interconnected pillars: Growth, Transformation, Efficiency, and Resilience—all anchored by the core mandate of Sustainable Value Creation.

Under the framework of this strategy, Ethio telecom has successfully initiated its structural shift from a traditional telecommunications operator into a fully integrated technology enterprise (Telco-to-TechCo). By expanding beyond connectivity into cloud solutions, mobile financial service through telebirr, enterprise solutions, and AI-enabled platforms, we have transformed strategic concepts into real-world platforms that empower community, businesses, and government institutions.

The strategy is aligned with the national “Digital Ethiopia 2030” vision, strengthening the company’s role in accelerating comprehensive economic growth, streamlining digital government services, and creating new opportunities within the regional and global digital economies.

Moreover, we are committed to supporting the national development agendas by expanding services into various digital platforms, ecosystems, and enterprise solutions. Beyond national borders, we are working to accelerate the “Digital Africa 2063” journey and become a regional role model by creating new opportunities in the global digital economy, providing cross-border services, and enhancing continental collaboration.

The subsequent pages detail how Ethio telecom has strategically invested in telecommunications and digital infrastructure, and how these foundational assets have empowered society with widespread internet access and rich digital services. This section outlines how these infrastructure advancements enabled the company to build, run, and deliver a diverse portfolio of products and services—heeding direct customer feedback—including high-capacity Enterprise Solutions that serve as the bedrock of the nation’s digital transformation. Furthermore, it presents our comprehensive performance results alongside the tangible impacts delivered to customers, enterprises, government institutions, society at large, shareholders, and the environment, highlighting our direct contributions toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards.

1. Modernizing the Network: Building Capacity for Ethiopia’s Digital Future

Ethio telecom’s infrastructure, technology, and facility development initiatives in 2025/26 marked a decisive leap toward building a future ready digital foundation for Ethiopia. By consolidating modernization efforts across mobile networks, transmission systems, and core facilities, with expansion efforts, Ethio telecom moved beyond incremental upgrades to a holistic transformation program.

During the budget year, major network modernization and expansion projects have been launched across Huawei, ZTE, and Ericsson network circles. These interventions have significantly increased network capacity, alleviated congestion, enhanced 4G service quality in high-speed data demanding areas, and improved overall customer experience. These improvements have also been accompanied by positive customer feedback, demonstrating the effectiveness of the ongoing modernization and expansion projects.

1.1 Advancing Nationwide 4G, 5G and Fiber Connectivity

During the budget year, a total of 603 new mobile sites were deployed to strengthen network capacity and coverage in rural, urban and commercial centers. Out of the 603 new mobile sites 195 are new rural sites with 22 of them being rural solution sites whereas 408 are new macro sites.

As a result, the total number of mobile sites increased from 10,010 to 10,613, of which 10,159 are macro sites, and 454 are rural solution sites designed to provide connectivity for rural communities with limited or no access to commercial power. In parallel, an additional 10.2 million network capacity was created, increasing the overall network capacity from 104.8 million to 115.1 million.

Extensive 4G network upgrade and expansion yield 82.23% in 4G Population Coverage

In parallel with new site deployments, extensive 4G and 5G network upgrade and expansion initiatives were implemented during the budget year to enhance network capacity, coverage, and user experience. 264 new towns across the country were added this year resulting in a total of 1,200 towns being covered with 4G, and raising 4G population coverage from 70.83% to 82.23% and geographic coverage from 21.06% to 36.29%.

5G Network Expansion created new opportunities for Smart Cities, E‑government, E‑commerce and Fintech platforms.

 5G expansion advanced with covering seven additional cities bringing the total to 33 cities, and 25 new 5G sites deployed, raising total 5G sites to 340. This increased 5G capacity to 1.4 million, with a net addition of 80.9K, enabling enterprise grade services and innovation ecosystems. Each site addition and capacity upgrade directly translated into improved service reliability, higher speeds, and broader access, while the rollout of 5G created new opportunities for Smart Cities, e‑commerce, e‑government, and fintech platforms.

Together, these initiatives embody the Digital Ethiopia Vision 2030 by ensuring resilient nationwide connectivity, empowering digital services, and positioning Ethio telecom as the driver of innovation and competitiveness in Ethiopia’s digital journey.

 Fixed Broadband and Optical Distribution Network (ODN) Expansion: the Basis for Enterprise Solution

Fixed Broadband Services recorded strong performance during the budget year, achieving 1,000,050 customers representing 99.3% target achievement. Compared with the same period of the previous year, when the customer base stood at 847,109, the service recorded 18.0% year-on-year growth, reflecting continued demand for high-speed connectivity services.

The growth was supported by the expansion of fiber-based access infrastructure and network modernization initiatives. A total of 1.46 Million ODN capacity was deployed with 463,093 additional ODN capacity deployed in existing copper network areas this year whereas the  green field accounted for an addition of 53,562 capacity. Crucially, this robust ODN infrastructure serves as the essential backbone enabling Ethio telecom to deliver high-capacity, high-reliability enterprise solutions to businesses, government institutions, and organizations across the country.

Alongside new coverage, major strides were made in network modernization through legacy transition. A total of 72,253 customers were successfully migrated from copper to fiber, directly supporting the phase-out of legacy networks and empowering the community, businesses, and public services with the seamless, high-speed connectivity required to fully participate in Ethiopia’s growing digital society.

Fiber And Transmission Network: The Foundations of Our Services

The backbone fiber network is one of the foundations of Ethio telecom’s services. Through this expansion program, Ethio telecom deployed 793 km of new fiber optic cable, achieving 72% of the 1,100 km annual target and bringing the total national backbone fiber network to 23,442.1 km. These deployments have significantly enhanced fiber densification, ring protection, and route redundancy. In addition, a total of 231.46 km of backbone fiber has been rehabilitated using internal resources, enhancing network availability, transmission quality, and corridor resilience while reducing reliance on external contractors. Furthermore, 445.6 km of fiber was relocated during the Addis Ababa and regional corridor projects, demonstrating exceptional operational excellence with no service impact during relocation.

During the budget year, Ethio telecom proactively worked to address growing transport network demands through OTN expansion across 104 sites. To enable this expansion, detailed site-level LLDs and engineering designs were completed, ensuring that the network is well prepared to support increasing capacity requirements and future scalability.

Metro Network Expansion

Expanded metro network capacity to 15,615KM after completing 1,275Km in this budget year that helps in improving network resilience, reducing congestion, and supporting increasing broadband traffic demand.

Fiberization of Mobile Sites

Within this budget year, 841 mobile sites successfully connected with fiber, bringing the total number of fiber-connected mobile sites to 3,279. Of these, 1,548 sites are in Addis Ababa, while the remaining sites are in regional areas. This represents 96% fiberization of mobile sites in Addis Ababa and 19% coverage across regional wireless sites.

This expansion significantly strengthens network capacity, reliability, and service quality. Compared to microwave links, fiber connectivity delivers substantially higher bandwidth, lower latency, and greater stability, enabling superior mobile data performance and supporting the growing demand for high-speed services. Strategically, fiberizing mobile sites establishes a future-ready transport network that supports advanced 4G expansion, Massive MIMO deployment, 5G rollout, and long-term 6G readiness.

International Gateway

Following the expansion of the fixed, 4G, 5G, and enterprise networks, our internet capacity has also been upgraded to meet the ever-growing customer demand for data services, improves customer experience, reduces congestion, supports high-speed broadband demand, and provides reliable connectivity for enterprise and digital services. Our internet capacity has reached 4.3 Tb/s by adding 1.8 Tb/s this year; CDN cache capacity was enhanced by 820 Gbps and reached 2062 Gbps across 5 CDN partners, while IGW capacity increased by 750 Gbps to 2,040 Gbps. This significant capacity ADDITION strengthens international backhaul resilience, reduces latency, and ensures the network can support the ongoing surge in data demand and digital services across the country.

Ensuring Power Supply

During the budget year, Ethio telecom deployed 867 hybrid power systems across BTS sites, reducing dependence on unstable grid supplies, which helped improve uptime and stabilize mobile network availability. It also expanded its renewable energy footprint by deploying 215 new solar sites and upgrading 774 existing ones, thereby reducing reliance on conventional energy sources and supporting Ethiopia’s green transition. To ensure Quality of Service (QoS), 225 generators were deployed as backup power sources to mitigate outages.

Sustainability will remain a core pillar of infrastructure development through renewable energy adoption, energy-efficient technologies, intelligent power management, and green operations. Solar expansion, hybrid energy solutions, advanced battery technologies, AI-enabled energy optimization, and sustainable data center infrastructure will reduce environmental impact, enhance network reliability, and support long-term operational resilience.

Building a Resilient Foundation: Strategic Capital Investment for Digital Ethiopia

Recognizing that a robust and resilient telecommunications foundation is indispensable for realizing the national Digital Ethiopia vision, Ethio telecom continues to invest aggressively in strategic modernization, network expansion, and capacity upgrades. These strategic capital investments made this year alone have built a massive asset base valued at 75.66 Billion ETB, underscoring the company’s unwavering commitment to powering the country’s digital transformation and fueling long-term economic growth.

• Digital Infrastructure

Data Center and Cloud Services

Ethio telecom is modernizing and expanding its data center infrastructure through investments in modular and hyperscale data centers, cloud platforms, and advanced cybersecurity systems. These investments are intended to provide secure, reliable, and scalable digital infrastructure that supports cloud services, enterprise solutions, AI-driven applications, and Ethiopia’s broader digital transformation.

During the current budget year, more than 20 new cloud-enabled enterprise services were launched, including Enterprise Email, Rent Management, Tele ERP Lite, BMS, Workspace, Znexus, and Tele Contact Center, strengthening Ethio telecom’s position as a trusted digital infrastructure and solutions provider.

Data center expansion reached a major milestone, with a 5 MW IT load capacity and 640 racks across six Tier III-certified facilities in Addis Ababa and regional locations. Utilization reached 87%, supporting more than 880 government entities, 340 enterprises, intranational organization and Ethio telecom’s own digital platforms. Total compute capacity now includes 12,400 virtual machines, 8.4 petabytes of storage, and 240 Gbps of internet connectivity.

A resilient dual-site data center architecture enabled real-time replication, ensuring zero data loss and a 15-minute recovery time. Strategically separated by 120 km, the sites provide protection from regional disruptions while maintaining an ultra-low 8 ms round-trip latency for uninterrupted performance.

Green data center operations were strengthened through advanced cooling systems, with free-air cooling used for 67% of the year, reducing energy consumption by 34%.

Dual-grid systems implemented across all data centers further improve operational efficiency through optimized power distribution, delivering a PUE of 1.3 compared with the global industry average of 1.6. The data centers consume 41% less energy per compute unit than the previous generation, reducing both operating costs and environmental impact.

Developing and Improving Digital Infrastructure

By upgrading and improving Information Technology systems, the company has achieved continuous business growth and high technological excellence while ensuring the best customer experience through modern service quality. Consequently, technology products of high value for community lifestyle and enterprise efficiency are being made widely accessible. Specifically, new technologies and digital solutions that modernize operations and provide fast, convenient service to customers are being implemented. Key among these are: OSS Cloud implementation, NGBSS SNS upgrade raising customer capacity, TeleCloud and Private Cloud, Disaster Recovery (DR) expansion, construction of a new E-Commerce platform, DNS System Upgrade Solution, Webhosting Upgrade and Migration, and Authentication, Authorization & Accounting (AAA).

Cybersecurity

Since cyberattacks are a major challenge for the rapidly growing digital service, it has been possible to protect the company’s main assets from data theft, service interruption, and revenue loss by building our company’s human resource capacity, modernizing processes, and equipping ourselves with the most advanced technologies to defend against attempted attacks. All attacks were repelled without damage, primarily because a 24/7 cybersecurity control system was implemented, a technology-centered system access authorization was applied to manage the security of the company’s core systems, and modern technologies were used to detect attack attempts in advance.

During the budget year, the Intelligent Operations Center detected, analyzed, and mitigated 242,459 security incidents across the digital ecosystem, including 78,845 remote code execution attempts, 67,537 malware incidents, 67,042 phishing attacks, 19,421 suspicious user behavior events, 4,423 injection-based attacks, 2,274 exploit attempts, 2,210 DDoS attacks, and 707 reconnaissance activities.

Data privacy and access security have been strengthened through comprehensive privileged access management and identity governance practices. During the year, 7,192 user account-related requests were managed, 240,083 user accounts were audited, 2,305 role engineering requests were processed, 1,362 dormant accounts were suspended, and 411 password validity policies were enforced, ensuring secure access control and reducing identity-related risks. Critical systems maintained 99.99% uptime through redundant architecture, proactive monitoring, and preventive controls, while achieving zero major outages during national events, demonstrating strong operational resilience.

To institutionalize a strong cybersecurity culture, the Company expanded employee awareness and capability-building initiatives. Phishing simulation exercises reduced the click rate to 5.4%, with 74.5% of employees successfully passing phishing tests. Cybersecurity awareness maturity improved, with 79.5% of employees achieving perfect assessment scores, compared with 44.8% in the previous year.

2. Expanding Our Reach

Strengthening Nationwide Service Accessibility

While expanding its regional footprint, Ethio telecom continued to reinforce its leadership in the domestic market by extending its nationwide commercial and service-delivery network.

During the budget year, the Company significantly expanded its commercial presence by opening and operationalizing 217 new direct sales and service centers, against an annual target of 110 centers. This represents 197% achievement, exceeding the plan by 107 centers.

The expansion brought services closer to customers, enhanced nationwide accessibility and strengthened the Company’s capacity to deliver telecommunications, digital and financial services across urban, peri-urban and previously underserved areas. By the end of the budget year, Ethio telecom operated a total of 1,145 service centers and customer-facing outlets, comprising: Premium service centers ,Grand service centers ,Higher service centers ,Medium service centers ,Kiosks and kiosk corners , Ethio telecom-owned movable kiosks ,IDC-partnered movable kiosks ,Franchise service centers and One Zemen GEBEYA digital channel.

This diversified service-delivery network improved customer convenience, strengthened last-mile accessibility and enabled the Company to respond more effectively to varying customer and market needs.

Advancing Inclusive and Customer-Centric Growth

The expansion represents more than an increase in physical outlets; it is a strategic investment in customer proximity, inclusive access and sustainable market growth. By integrating directly operated centers with franchise and partner-supported channels, Ethio telecom strengthened customer acquisition, service delivery and after-sales support while accelerating the adoption of mobile, broadband, telebirr and other digital services.

The expanded network further reinforced Ethio telecom’s position as the country’s leading provider of connectivity, digital and financial services.

3. Transforming Customer Experience and Service Quality

Product and Service Enhancement

During the budget year, 475 new and enhanced products and services were launched across consumer, enterprise, fintech, digital lifestyle, and international business segments, introducing AI-powered solutions, innovative financial services, and advanced enterprise technologies. It comprised 193 new products and services, 197 enhancements, and 85 promotional items.

Driving Digital Inclusion Through Affordable Devices and Customer Education

To improve digital inclusion and lower financial barriers, our company also introduced affordable znexus cloud-based devices, Cloud Workspace solutions, device financing, and installment-based sales. These programs enabled more customers to access digital and telecom services. Supported by direct supply initiatives and partnerships with smartphone brands, smartphone penetration reached 45.2%, with device sales totaling 832,656 units (88.8% of the annual target) during the budget year.

Customer education programs reached approximately 30.5M customers, significantly exceeding the annual target, and played a key role in promoting digital financial services, encouraging safe service usage, and accelerating digital adoption. These efforts contributed to increased utilization of digital channels, increased trust in digital transactions and usage of digital financial services.

 Network Performance

Following the modernization and expansion efforts, Ethio telecom’s network performance during the reporting year demonstrated strong resilience and continuous improvement.

The NER (Network Effectiveness Ratio) consistently exceeded the 90% target while NAR (Network Availability Rate) showed minor fluctuations but maintained above 94% for most of the year, peaking at 95.2%, reflecting robust stability.

Service quality improved significantly while 4G user throughput remained steady between 6.7 and 8.06 Mbps, ensuring reliable high‑speed data delivery. Collectively, these outcomes highlight the success of Ethio telecom’s Next Horizon strategy in modernizing infrastructure, optimizing performance, and enhancing customer experience.

4. Bridging the Digital Divide: Accelerating Rural Connectivity and Inclusion

As Ethio telecom places rural connectivity programs at the center of its strategic plan, the interventions implemented under the program are significantly contributing to the transformation and empowerment of rural communities. By expanding telecom infrastructure and mobile services in underserved areas, the program is improving access to communication and digital connectivity, enabling rural communities to participate more actively in digital services.

Rural network expansion delivered 195 new rural sites with subsequent 1.64 million network capacity, covering 117 woredas and 492 villages/kebeles, benefiting approximately 1.53 million beneficiaries. These achievements have significantly contributed to reducing the digital divide, promoting digital inclusion including financial inclusion, and expanding access to communication and digital services in rural communities across the country.

Collectively, these efforts are helping to bridge the digital divide, promote socio-economic development, and improve quality of life for rural communities across the country.

5. Empowering Businesses and Public Institutions Through Enterprise Solutions

By enabling secure connectivity, digital platforms, data-driven operations, and institutional adoption, Enterprise Solutions has strengthened service delivery, operational continuity, productivity, and user experience across organizations and sectors. The impact is reflected in faster and more transparent services, improved institutional efficiency, stronger decision-making, and scalable digital models that support economic and social development.

Across strategic sectors, including government services, private enterprises, tourism, health, smart cities, industrialization, agriculture, and mining, the digitalization portfolio is creating measurable value through automation, improved accessibility, real-time visibility, and enhanced operational control. It enables more efficient public services, connected industries, smarter urban management, improved healthcare continuity, digital agriculture ecosystems, and safer resource operations.

Enterprise business has transformed a portfolio of 126 initiatives, including 60 completed projects, 94 institutional engagements, and 8 strategic flagship programs, into a shared digital operating capability.

6. Performance at a Glance: A Year of Growth, Impact and Transformation

Customer Base

During the budget year, Ethio telecom continued to strengthen its market position by expanding its customer base across different service segments. The total customer base reached 90.12M, exceeding the annual target of 88.63M and achieving 101.7% of the plan, while recording 8.3% year-on-year growth compared with the same period of the previous year.  

Total active mobile subscribers reached 72.09M, achieving 94.4% of the annual target and recording 8.1% YOY growth. Active Mobile Data and Mobile Voice users increased by 10.7% and 11.0%, reaching 51.53M and 66.95M, respectively, while achieving 91.0% and 95.6% of their targets. Active SMS users grew to 65.65M, representing 7.8% YOY growth and 93.9% target achievement

Customers by Service Type

When viewed by service type, mobile Voice subscribers surpassed the annual target, reaching 86.91M (101.7% performance) with 8.2% growth over the previous year. Mobile data also reached 51.53M in actual performance during the reporting period, compared to last year’s same period it showed 10.7% CAGR and against the current year’s target of 56.63M, achieved 91.0% performance.  Fixed broadband also reached new milestone, recording 1 million customers, bringing total data and internet users to 52.5 million.

Revenue Performance

During the 2025/26 budget year, Ethio telecom generated ETB 215.82 billion in revenue, achieving 99.7% of the annual target and 33.2% year-on-year growth, driven by sustained demand for connectivity, digital services, and enterprise solutions.

Among the major revenue contributors are data and Internet services holding 31.1% share of total revenue whereas mobile voice accounted for 23.5% share. VAS and international services have contributed 9.1% and 8% of total revenue respectively. Enterprise solutions has contributed for 7.1% share of total revenue. National Id, Device Sales and telebirr contributed 3.3%, 4.0% and 3.6% of the total revenue respectively.

Accelerating Digital Adoption

Data and Internet services emerged as the strongest growth engine accounting for 31.1% of the total revenue, 35.9% cumulative average annual growth rate recorded since June 2018 YTD, whereas Mobile Voice services contributed 23.5% of the total revenue while CAGR shows 9.5% growth since June 2018 YTD.

This reflects the accelerating shift toward a digital economy. For over a century, voice services remained the Company’s leading revenue contributor. While voice revenue continued its growth trajectory, the rapid expansion of data services enabled data revenue to surpass voice as the major revenue stream, highlighting the customers’ increasing digital adoption as well as the company’s successful digital transformation.

Generating Foreign Currency and Strengthening National Economic Value

During the budget year, international services also delivered strong performance, generating USD 139.9 million while strengthening global roaming, wholesale connectivity, and strategic international partnerships. Total foreign currency generated amounted to 188.48 M USD

Delivering Strong and Sustainable Financial Performance

Ethio telecom delivered a significant financial turnaround in FY 2025/26, driven by strong revenue growth, improved cost efficiency, and disciplined financial management. EBITDA increased by 51.9% (ETB 38.7 billion), reaching ETB 113.1 billion, while operating profit grew by 47.5% (ETB 30 billion) to reach ETB 92.9 billion. This reflects the company’s enhanced cost management and stronger efficiency in converting revenue into operating profit to sustain growth despite business expansion and rising costs.

Cost Excellence and Operational Efficiency: Creating More Value with Every Resource

Our company’s Do2Save initiative which was under implementation since July 2021 has become a company-wide operational excellence framework that embeds continuous improvement, resource optimization, and value creation across the organization. During the reporting year, it delivered ETB 14.61 billion in efficiency gains, 96% from cost optimization and 4% from revenue enhancement through initiatives spanning network capacity optimization, fixed network modernization, energy efficiency, international connectivity optimization, digital transformation, commercial and distribution improvements, facilities and fleet optimization, marketing efficiency, and supply chain excellence. These efforts strengthened financial resilience, improved customer experience, enhanced network quality, accelerated digital transformation, optimized asset utilization, and reinforced a culture of executive accountability, data-driven decision-making, and cross-functional collaboration, positioning operational efficiency as a sustainable driver of profitability, competitiveness, and long-term strategic growth.

7. telebirr: Powering Financial Inclusion and Ethiopia’s Digital Economy

Evolving far beyond a mobile wallet, telebirr has become a comprehensive digital financial ecosystem offering integrated services including payments, collections, merchant solutions, government payments, savings, lending, remittances, digital commerce, and other value-added services. This evolution has established telebirr as a key driver of Ethiopia’s digital economy.

Integration with 33 banks, MFIs, and SACCOs, together with its extensive agent and merchant network, has strengthened interoperability, expanded access to digital financial services, and reinforced Ethiopia’s digital financial infrastructure.

 telebirr Subscribers

telebirr recorded strong growth in customer acquisition and ecosystem expansion. 60.6 million customers onboarded, achieving 96.9% of the target, with 8.54 million new customers added during the budget year. While 12 million new accounts were registered, 6.85 million inactive accounts were removed, improving data quality and platform efficiency. Customer engagement also strengthened, with 19.48 million 90-day active users, and more than 11.57 million SuperApp users, reaffirming telebirr’s position as Ethiopia’s leading digital financial platform.

telebirr Transactions

telebirr continued its strong growth trajectory, processing 2.61 billion transactions, exceeding the YTD target of 2.09 billion and achieving 124.6% of the target. This represents an exceptional 145.3% year-on-year growth, reflecting accelerating customer adoption and increased transaction frequency across the platform. Transaction value reached ETB 4.19 trillion, achieving 92.8% of the YTD target of ETB 4.51 trillion, while growing 76.2% compared to the same period last year. Since its launch, telebirr has transacted ETB 9.13Trillion. Beyond digitalizing money transfers in our country, this enables financial services to be significantly inclusive and accessible.

Numerous activities have been done to make telebirr services more accessible, increase the number of our company partners, and enable them to provide various services using telebirr. Consequently, with 410.7K agents and 440.1K merchants are providing telebirr services. These agents are enabled to register customers, facilitate cash-in and cash-out, sell airtime, and execute bill payments. Furthermore, integration work with 33 banks has been completed, allowing easy money transfers from bank-to-telebirr and telebirr-to-bank.

telebirr’s Digital Financial Service Performance

In collaboration with banks, mobile micro-loans, micro-saving services, and related digital finance services that play a significant role in our community’s overall change and improvement and can bring meaningful economic changes beyond just accessing financial services have been provided. During the fisical year, digital financial inclusion continued to strengthen through collateral-free digital lending, with ETB 19.51 billion disbursed to 5.65 million customers, achieving 87.7% of the annual target and digital savings reached ETB 18.75 billion from 1.3 million customers, representing a robust 66.9% increase over the previous year.

Zemen GEBEYA (E-commerce) Performance

It is noted that our company launched a Digital Market Place (E-commerce platform) named Zemen GEBEYA to modernize and elevate our country’s trading system. Regarding increasing the accessibility and acceptance of Zemen GEBEYA, adjustments were made to delivery prices, making holiday-themed deliveries free, and providing discounts on items, which significantly stimulated ZemenGEBEYA users and digital trading habits. It has particularly served as an indicator that consumer goods used by the majority of the community can be delivered in an affordable and streamlined way, and that manufacturers can present their products to the community through better alternatives.

Consequently, ZemenGEBEYA attracted over 2.4 million marketplace visits during the year. More than 58.3K customers completed 72.1K transactions with a total merchandise value of ETB 377.9 million, demonstrating growing customer confidence, increased adoption of digital commerce, and the platform’s expanding contribution to Ethiopia’s digital economy.

8. Investing in People: Building Future-Ready Talent and Organizational Capability

Ethio telecom advanced its human capital strategy in direct alignment with the Next Horizon: Digital and Beyond 2028 ambition, positioning its workforce as a strategic enabler of digital transformation, innovation, and sustainable growth.

Through targeted, multifaceted development initiatives, we continuously enhance our employees’ capabilities—fostering an empowered, highly adaptable, and future-ready workforce. Key initiatives include tailored training programs delivered internally and in partnership with leading external organizations. Accordingly, Ethio telecom delivered training to 152,126 participants, including 148,257 employees, 3,436 partners, 254 enterprise clients, and 179 contract staff with 86% of training delivered via digital platforms. This represents the largest and most systematically aligned learning initiative in the company’s history, directly supporting the Next Horizon Digital and Beyond 2028 strategy through targeted upskilling in digital leadership, AI, cybersecurity, and enterprise solutions.

Furthermore, we are actively executing a targeted strategy to advance women into leadership roles. Driven by a comprehensive needs assessment, we launched specialized development programs for female managers across our technical and commercial sectors. Additionally, during recent organizational restructuring, we prioritized gender parity by actively identifying and promoting qualified women into key decision-making positions.

9. Beyond Connectivity: Expanding Digital Products and Services

National Digital ID Registration Performance

The National Digital ID Program is a flagship digital public infrastructure initiative supporting Ethiopia’s Digital Ethiopia 2030 vision by enabling secure identity, trusted digital transactions, improved public services, and cross-sector interoperability. As the country’s leading digital transformation enabler, Ethio telecom has played a pivotal role by leveraging its nationwide infrastructure, customer reach, digital capabilities, and operational excellence to accelerate National ID adoption and accessibility.

The company established one of the largest National ID service networks in Ethiopia, operating through service centers, franchise outlets, and mobile registration teams across all 12 regions and two city administrations, covering 119 zones (98%), 986 woredas (79%), and 1,376 cities with over 3,340 active registration kits.

Since joining the program on 24 April 2024, Ethio telecom has registered nearly 32 million citizens, accounting for 69% of Ethiopia’s total National ID registrations, and generated 27.1 million Foundational Identification Numbers (FINs). During the budget year alone, 20.19 million citizens were registered and 17.17 million FINs generated. 

Priority was given for an inclusive digital identity access by registering over 4 million farmers in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and 28,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) through partnerships with UNHCR and NRC. Additional targeted initiatives supported PSNP beneficiaries, returnees, students, and other priority groups, advancing the Government’s goal of universal digital identity coverage.

National ID card production and distribution services initiative was enhanced, printing 9.35 million cards from 9.4 million orders (99% fulfillment rate). During the budget year, 7.45 million cards were printed, supported by 19 regional printing centers, 27 printers, more than 500 pickup locations, and OTP-based secure card distribution. The initiative also created employment opportunities for more than 4,000 citizens and expanded business opportunities for franchise partners.

Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations

In the budget year, five super-fast electric vehicle charging stations were constructed. This has raised the number of EV charging stations built by our company so far to 9, creating a total capacity to charge 108 vehicles simultaneously using ultra-fast and super-fast technology. Beyond supporting the government’s green economy policy and direction, this initiative significantly contributes to accelerating electric vehicle adoption and transition in our country.

10. Strengthening Ethiopia’s Global and Continental Digital Engagement

One of the goals in our company’s “Next Horizon: Digital and Beyond 2028” strategy is to operate outside the country and become a leading digital solution institution in Africa. Accordingly, it is establishing numerous business relationships to work with telecom service providers in various countries, one of which is with CAMTEL (Cameroon Telecommunications), the state-owned telecom provider in Cameroon.

The basis for this partnership is Ethio telecom’s strategic plan to transform itself from a regular telecom operator into a technology company (TechCo), specifically focusing on expanding digital infrastructure access, providing high-value digital platforms beyond standard voice and data communication, and integrating financial, social, and government services based on the successful telebirr ecosystem.

Horizon Fiber and Strategic Infrastructure Projects

The Horizon Fiber Initiative is advancing as a transformative, high-capacity terrestrial corridor linking Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia (Jeddah), delivering a resilient, low-latency, and multi-terabit alternative to subsea dependency tailored for hyper scalers and global carriers.

Since formalizing the strategic partnership through an MoU signed in Addis Ababa on December 3, 2024, and securing a binding agreement on February 4, 2026, the project has maintained strong execution momentum and is progressing strictly on schedule. With the End-to-End (E2E) solution architecture fully finalized and all procurement and site material deliveries complete, the initiative has successfully transitioned into the active deployment phase. Once fully operational, Horizon Fiber will significantly optimize regional data flows, reduce latency and transmission costs, stimulate regional digital trade and economic growth, and serve as a scalable foundation for future cross-border telecommunications expansion.

11. Creating Shared Value: Our Contribution to Customers, Government and Society

To discharge its social responsibility, our company is engaged in research-backed activities across the country organized under CSR plans and linked with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure the comprehensive development of the country and its citizens. These primarily target projects such as education, health, environmental protection, green development, and beautification that can enhance citizens’ economic capacity, bridge the digital awareness gap, ensure inclusion, and strengthen the community’s long-term development.

During the budget year, a total of over 492 million ETB was contributed. The contribution included education, health, humanitarian aid, environmental protection, green development, and beautification, and national projects.

Based on its commitment to preventing environmental pollution, creating a clean and livable environment for our community, and achieving sustainable development goals, our company showed high commitment by facilitating environmental protection activities and the Green Legacy program, causing seedlings to be planted across the country with the participation of our company employees and partners.

Job Creation and Income Opportunity

Beyond fulfilling its key enabling role in building the digital economy ecosystem for our country’s comprehensive growth, our company is excellently discharging its national responsibility by creating sustainable job and income opportunities for citizens.

Accordingly, in addition to the direct job opportunities created for 44,757 employees (15,912 indefinite and 28,845 definite term employees), wide-ranging job and income opportunities have been established through product and service distribution, agent networks, and various partnership models. Specifically, this ecosystem supports 519,810 distribution partners and telebirr agents, 2,205 local suppliers, 1,213 Value-Added Service (VAS) partners, 138 franchise partners, and 693 international partners.

In general, through the execution of our growth strategy across sectors such as security, network deployment, maintenance, traffic control, construction, environmental care (seedling maintenance), and roles created via third-party agreements, we have successfully created job and income opportunities for over 2 million citizens active within our ecosystem. This achievement demonstrates our company’s pivotal role in strengthening the national economy and enhancing the financial capacity of our citizens.

Contribution to National Development

Tax contributions reached ETB 73.5 billion during the year (36 billion direct and 37.5 billion indirect taxes, of which 2.4 billion is National Disaster Recovery Fund contribution), bringing cumulative tax payments since 2018 to ETB 244.5 billion, underscoring Ethio telecom’s growing contribution to national development.

Powering Sustainable Connectivity Through Green and Resilient Infrastructure

Ethio telecom supported national green energy initiatives by deploying commercial EV charging. Two Additional EV charging stations developed by this year making the total EV charging station 5, supporting Ethiopia’s Green Mobility Initiative and aligning telecom infrastructure with national sustainability goals. The integration of advanced lithium-ion batteries and solar systems not only improved backup reliability but also lowered carbon emissions, reinforcing Ethio telecom’s commitment to environmental stewardship.

Our modernization and energy efficiency measures ranging from AI‑driven sleep modes and dynamic carrier shutdowns to the replacement of legacy equipment and cloud centralization are not only operational improvements but strategic enablers of Ethiopia’s national digital agenda. These initiatives directly align with the Digital Ethiopia Vision 2030, which emphasize resilient, sustainable, and future ready networks. By reducing energy consumption, extending equipment life, and lowering maintenance costs, Ethio telecom is advancing the country’s goals of building a modern, climate conscious digital economy while ensuring that connectivity expansion is efficient, inclusive, and globally competitive.

Sustainability and ESG Performance

Ethio telecom continues to integrate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into its corporate strategy, creating sustainable value for customers, employees, shareholders, communities, and the nation. Guided by its “Next Horizon and Beyond 2028” strategy, the Company is accelerating Ethiopia’s digital transformation while advancing climate action, digital inclusion, responsible governance, and socio-economic development in alignment with national priorities and global sustainability objectives.

During the 2025/26 reporting period, Ethio Telecom made significant progress in embedding sustainability across its operations. Key achievements include reducing operational carbon emissions through renewable energy investments, network modernization, and energy-efficient technologies; expanding digital and financial inclusion through telebirr, affordable connectivity, and accessible digital services; strengthening employee well-being, diversity, and workforce development; and reinforcing corporate governance through responsible procurement, regulatory compliance, cybersecurity, data privacy, and transparent business practices.

Environmental: Ethio Telecom strengthened its environmental stewardship and expanded its renewable energy footprint by deploying additional solar-powered network sites, hybrid power systems, and energy-efficient green data centers, achieving substantial reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions. The launch of the nationwide Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Platform, deployment of 212 electric vehicles, implementation of intelligent network energy optimization, and the Green Legacy reforestation initiative further reinforced the Company’s contribution to Ethiopia’s climate ambitions. Circular economy practices were strengthened through responsible e-waste management, equipment refurbishment, asset recovery, recycling initiatives, and sustainable resource management, while environmental compliance was enhanced through responsible supplier engagement and adherence to national environmental regulations.

Social: Ethio telecom continued to expand digital inclusion and improve access to affordable communications and financial services across Ethiopia. The Company maintained nationwide connectivity while introducing targeted affordable packages for underserved populations, including women, youth, students, teachers, persons with disabilities, rural communities, and returning diaspora. More than 6.1 million customers migrated to faster broadband technologies, over 834,000 customers accessed digital education platforms, and affordable smart devices were introduced to bridge the digital divide. telebirr continued to drive financial inclusion by facilitating ETB 4.19 trillion in transactions, equivalent to approximately 20% of Ethiopia’s GDP while expanding digital payment ecosystems, rural agent networks, merchant onboarding, and government digital payment services.

Governance: Ethio Telecom further strengthened its governance framework by aligning its operations with national regulations and international ESG best practices. The company maintained robust corporate governance structures supported by effective risk management, ethics and compliance programs, cybersecurity, data privacy, and transparent financial reporting. Also sustained eight consecutive years of unqualified audit opinions, strengthened fraud prevention through enhanced customer identity verification and digital controls, achieved 99.99% critical system availability, maintained zero significant data privacy incidents, and continued proactive enterprise-wide risk management. Supplier governance was further strengthened through ESG-integrated procurement practices, performance evaluations, responsible sourcing, and transparent stakeholder engagement.

Through these achievements, Ethio telecom continues to demonstrate that sustainable business practices and digital innovation are mutually reinforcing. By embedding ESG principles across its operations, the Company is creating long-term environmental, social, and economic value while contributing to a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable digital future for Ethiopia.

12. Public Listing and Capital Market Leadership

Marking a historic milestone, Ethio telecom successfully transitioned into a Public Share Company, leading the inaugural listing on the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX). Since secondary market trading commenced on May 26, 2026, the share price surged from ETB 300 to ETB 852, representing a remarkable 184% increase. This rapid appreciation reflects profound investor confidence in the company’s “Next Horizon” strategy and its leadership in the digital economy. With approximately 47,000 investor applications processed and a 96% share dematerialization rate achieved, this successful transition solidifies Ethio telecom’s position as a transparent, value-driven national champion and serves as a blueprint for Ethiopia’s emerging capital market.

13. Shareholder and Stakeholder Value Creation

During the budget year, Ethio telecom created significant value for shareholders and stakeholders through strong financial recovery, sustainable growth, and strategic investments. For shareholders, the company enhanced long-term value by improving profitability, strengthening the balance sheet, increasing equity, and growing retained earnings, which reinforced financial resilience and internal funding capacity. The 27% growth in total assets to ETB 420 billion reflects value creation through investments in network infrastructure, technology assets, and digital capabilities that expand future revenue-generating capacity and strengthen enterprise value.

For customers and society, Ethio telecom’s continued investment in telecom infrastructure, digital platforms, and service capacity improved access, reliability, and readiness for emerging digital services. The company’s expanded operational scale generated broader economic value by supporting digital inclusion, enabling businesses, creating employment opportunities, and contributing through increased tax payments and supplier engagements. For partners and vendors, the growth in investment activities and operational requirements strengthened business collaboration and ecosystem development.

Overall, the budget year demonstrated a shift from short-term financial performance improvement toward sustainable stakeholder value creation, combining stronger profitability, enhanced asset capability, improved financial strength, and strategic investments that position Ethio telecom for continued growth and national digital transformation.

14. Resilience in Action: Overcoming Challenges and Sustaining Performance

Major challenges that influenced performance occurred during the fisical year, macroeconomic pressures, characterized by persistent inflation, foreign exchange (FX) shortages, and a volatile forex market, have driven up operational and capital expenses, particularly for imported network equipment. These challenges are compounded by high energy costs resulting from backup diesel generator usage during power outages impact cash flow. To address these financial bottlenecks, a diversified sourcing framework utilizing authorized dealers, open-market procurement, and own-force imports has been adopted alongside alternative financing modalities.

Physical network infrastructure remains vulnerable to security issues, deliberate vandalism, and collateral damage from rapid urban development projects. Cable theft and frequent fiber cuts from road construction have caused service disruptions, prompting a migration from vulnerable copper lines to secure fiber networks, alongside increased corridor patrolling and security collaborations. On the strategic front, global supply chain disruptions, regulatory shifts, cybersecurity threats, and market competition from Over-the-Top (OTT) services present ongoing operational risks. Global procurement delays and material cost increases were stabilized by introducing an Approved Supplier List (ASL) framework and diversifying supplier networks.

Key Success Factors

The operational progress and strategic resilience of the company are supported by several key enabling factors, beginning with the guidance of the Board of Directors and committed leadership. This governance foundation is reinforced by a disciplined approach to strategy alignment, digital transformation, and an organizational culture that emphasizes customer-centricity, digital innovation. To sustain these initiatives, the company focuses on ongoing people development, active employee engagement, and organizational agility through collaborative internal frameworks.

Externally, operational execution is supported by building strategic ecosystem partnerships, maintaining corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, and executing key projects through optimized procurement processes. Ultimately, these integrated efforts help cultivate customer loyalty, deliver affordable and inclusive digital services, and ensure long-term financial sustainability through systematic cost-saving measures

15. Awards and Recognitions

Over the reporting period, Ethio telecom received the following national and continental awards and recognitions:

Platinum Taxpayer Award: Recognized for consistent tax compliance and sustained contributions to the national treasury, maintaining the position of the country’s leading tax contributor for five consecutive years.

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) Recognition: Honored for financial contributions and active participation in supporting this national infrastructure initiative.

Africa’s Best Brands Awards: Named both the “Most Admired Ethiopian Brand in Telecommunications” and the “Most Admired Ethiopian Brand Doing Good for Society and the Environment” at the 16th Annual Brand Africa 100 awards.

National Digital Trade Award: Presented by the Ministry of Trade & Regional Integration for contributions to advancing digital payment systems and supporting the local e-commerce ecosystem.

Continental Leadership Recognition: The Chief Executive Officer received the “African Businesswomen in Leadership 2026” award, recognizing contributions to business transformation, digital innovation, and organizational development.This significantly strengthens our competitiveness and acceptance in the country’s digital financial services market.

GSMA Mobile Money Certification: telebirr has secured the prestigious GSMA Mobile Money Certification, a global benchmark of excellence that validates its mature operational processes, comprehensive documentation, and robust governance controls. This landmark achievement positions telebirr as Ethiopia’s most trusted and internationally recognized mobile money platform, assuring regulators, partners, and millions of users that it operates within a highly secure, transparent, and resilient digital financial ecosystem. By meeting the world’s most rigorous standards in consumer protection, anti-money laundering, and service reliability, telebirr not only strengthens trust and partnerships but also drives adoption, deepens financial inclusion, and fosters a culture of continuous improvement across Ethiopia’s digital economy.

In conclusion, as the success achieved throughout the year is a result of collective effort, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to our esteemed Ethio telecom family, our valued customers, as well as our strategic partners, including distributors, suppliers, media institutions, and all stakeholders. We reaffirm our commitment to continuing and strengthening our nation’s digital transformation journey to realize a Digital Ethiopia.

Ethio telecom

July 23, 2026