Ethiopia’s parliament has approved the appointment of Frehiwot Tamru, the long-serving chief executive of state-owned Ethio Telecom, as Minister of Innovation and Technology.
The move, endorsed by the House of Peoples’ Representatives on Thursday as part of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s cabinet reshuffle for his second five-year term, transfers one of the country’s prominent corporate leaders directly into the federal executive.
Ms Frehiwot leaves Ethio Telecom after more than eight years at the helm, during which she oversaw the operator’s transformation from a traditional state connectivity provider into a multi-service digital enterprise. Her transition to government comes as Addis Ababa seeks to accelerate its “Digital Ethiopia” development strategy, leveraging digital public infrastructure and technology investments to drive economic growth.
Corporate Growth and the Rise of Telebirr
Appointed CEO in July 2018, Ms Frehiwot led the incumbent operator through a period of modernization. During her tenure, Ethio Telecom expanded its reach beyond voice and mobile data into digital financial services, cloud computing, e-commerce, and enterprise solutions.
Financial results for the 2025/26 fiscal year highlight the scale of the business she leaves behind:
- Revenue: Generated ETB 215.8bn ($1.7bn), up 33.2% year-on-year.
- Subscriber Base: Expanded to 90.1m active customers nationwide.
- Network Infrastructure: Deployed 10,613 mobile sites, delivering 82.2% national 4G coverage alongside 5G availability across 33 urban centres.
Central to this commercial shift was the launch of Telebirr, the company’s mobile financial platform introduced in 2021. Designed to foster financial inclusion in a largely unbanked economy, Telebirr reached 60.59m registered users and processed ETB 4.19tn in transaction volume during the 2025/26 fiscal year alone, bringing its cumulative transaction value since launch to ETB 9.13tn.
Ethio Telecom is currently executing its three-year “Next Horizon: Digital & Beyond 2028” plan, targeting 100m total subscribers and projected revenues of ETB 295bn for the 2026/27 financial year.
Telecom Liberalisation and Macroeconomic Context
Ms Frehiwot’s leadership coincided with significant changes in Ethiopia’s telecommunications market. Historically a closed state monopoly, the sector was opened to foreign competition in 2022 following the entry of a consortium led by Kenya’s Safaricom, Vodafone, and Sumitomo.
While Safaricom Ethiopia has progressively built out its network, Ethio Telecom retained its market dominance by leveraging its pre-existing physical infrastructure and rapidly scaling Telebirr before foreign mobile money platforms gained regulatory clearance.
At the same time, efforts to partially privatise Ethio Telecom by selling a minority stake to international investors have faced repeated delays amid shifting market conditions and broader macroeconomic reforms. The government’s recent floating of the Ethiopian birr under IMF-backed structural adjustments has reshaped the valuation landscape for state-owned assets, placing renewed emphasis on operational efficiency and foreign direct investment in technology.
Ethio Telecom Snapshot (2025/26 Fiscal Year)
┌───────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┐
│ Annual Revenue │ ETB 215.82 billion (+33.2%) │
│ Total Subscribers │ 90.1 million │
│ Telebirr Users │ 60.59 million │
│ Telebirr Annual Volume │ ETB 4.19 trillion │
│ 4G Population Coverage │ 82.2% │
└───────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────┘
Policy Challenges Ahead
As Minister of Innovation and Technology, Ms Frehiwot shifts from running a revenue-generating corporate entity to managing regulatory policy, research, artificial intelligence, and startup ecosystem development.
Her portfolio includes leading national initiatives such as Ethiopia’s Digital ID program, expanding cloud infrastructure, and attracting international technology partnerships. In July, while still heading Ethio Telecom, Ms Frehiwot led negotiations with Chinese technology provider Inspur Software Technology regarding AI computing infrastructure, enterprise solutions, and local talent development.
Industry observers note that her primary challenge will be translating infrastructure capacity into broader economic productivity, encouraging domestic tech entrepreneurship, and establishing regulatory frameworks that foster investment while maintaining state development objectives.
A successor to lead Ethio Telecom is expected to be announced by the state holdco board in the coming days.