COUNTRY FOCUS : ETHIOPIA

With population of 120 + million , Ethiopia is one of the fast-growing economies in Africa and a destination for technology and telecom firms looking to penetrate this market and expand their business operations , while it struggles to catch up with rest of the Sub Saharan market .

Panorama of the Capital City of Ethiopia ,

Addis Ababa

The push for smart city initiatives has spurred the development and adoption of digital platforms in Ethiopia . Collaborations such as the one between Ethio Telecom and the Addis Ababa city administration to build a smart city in Addis Ababa underscore this digital transformation .

According to ResearchAndMarkets . com , the Ethiopian data centre market is expected to reach a value of $ 226 million by 2028 from $ 95 million in 2022 , growing at a CAGR of 15.54 % from 2022 – 2028 .

An important milestone was reached in July 2023 when a memorandum of understanding was signed between Ethiopia and South Korea to embark on a smart city project in Ethiopia .

In terms of connectivity , Ethiopia is gearing up for the expansion of 4G and 5G networks , with telecom operators like Ethio Telecom committed to enhancing service quality to meet the growing demands of endusers . For instance , in June 2023 , the World Bank made significant investments in Africa to support Safaricom Ethiopia in building and operating advanced 4G and 5G mobile networks .

The government has ambitious plans to generate over 35,000 MW through geothermal energy by 2037 . wingu . africa , for instance , inaugurated its inaugural facility in Addis Ababa , boasting an impressive 161 thousand square feet of space and a power capacity of approximately 10 MW when fully developed . Addis Ababa has emerged as the preferred location for major investments from colocation service providers like wingu . africa and Safaricom .

However , Ethiopia lags the rest of the Sub Saharan market in ICT . According to US based International

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