Ethio Telecom Achieves 83.2M Subscribers and 73% Revenue Surge as LEAD Strategy Concludes

Ethio Telecom  has released its full-year performance report for the 2024/25 fiscal year, marking the conclusion of its ambitious three-year LEAD Growth Strategy. The results, unveiled at a public presentation at the Science Museum in Addis Ababa, highlight significant progress in digital infrastructure, network expansion, financial inclusion, and national revenue contribution.

The report covers performance from July 2024 to June 2025 and includes cumulative achievements over the 2022–2025 strategy period. The company reported a customer base of 83.2 million, revenue of 162 billion birr—a 72.9% increase from the previous year—and EBITDA of 76 billion birr, which exceeded its target by 4%. The company achieved 99% of its annual revenue plan and 100.2% of its subscriber growth target.

Mobile and Broadband Network Expansion

Ethio Telecom launched 1,683 new mobile sites during the year, nearly half of which were in rural areas, including projects that brought mobile coverage to over 5.9 million rural residents.

It expanded 4G LTE to 512 new locations, bringing the total number of 4G-covered cities and districts to 936, and more than doubling national 4G population coverage from 37.5% to 70.8%. The number of 5G-enabled cities increased from 10 to 26.

Mobile network capacity rose from 86.1 million to 104.8 million, providing 99.4% population coverage and 86.5% geographic coverage. Massive MIMO technology was added to 212 new sites to boost performance in high-demand areas.

Backbone and metro fiber expansion continued with 686 km added during the year. Total deployed backbone fiber now exceeds 22,600 km. Power systems were upgraded across 2,400 LTE and 5G sites to improve network resilience.

Digital Services and telebirr Milestones

Ethio Telecom’s flagship mobile financial platform, telebirr, sustained its upward trajectory, reaching 54.84 million users and handling over 2.38 trillion birr in transactions during the fiscal year.

The platform disbursed 13.22 billion birr in micro-loans to 6.88 million customers and facilitated 11.24 billion birr in digital savings. telebirr also expanded its ecosystem to include 310,000 merchants and 320,000 agents, while international remittance services and merchant payments gained traction. Circulating transactions now represent 35.8% of telebirr’s total value—above the global average for mobile money.

telebirr contributed 2.7% of total revenue for the year, underlining its growing impact on Ethio Telecom’s business model.

Service Delivery, Customer Growth, and Revenue

Ethio Telecom introduced 365 new and revamped products and services, spanning telecom, cloud, enterprise, lifestyle, and digital identity markets. Its national service footprint includes 1,038 service centers and a distribution network of over 303,000 agents and partners.

Subscriber growth remained strong, with 80.3 million mobile voice users, 46.6 million mobile data users, and a 67.2% increase in fixed broadband subscribers to 847,100. Overall customer growth rose by 6.2% compared to last year.

Annual revenue grew by 72.9% to 162 billion birr, with 193.1 million USD earned from international services. Foreign currency earnings reached 213.6 million USD, up 7.8% from the previous year and equal to 84.3% of the forex target.

Fiscal Contributions and Profitability

Ethio Telecom achieved EBITDA of 76 billion birr, or 104% of its annual profitability target, supported by rigorous cost-saving initiatives.

The company also made substantial contributions to the national economy:

• 43.8 billion birr in taxes paid

• 2.41 billion birr used for loan repayments

• 12.6 billion birr distributed in dividends

Technology and Cybersecurity Advancements

To support the growing demand for digital services, Ethio Telecom scaled up its data center infrastructure to 5 MW IT load and 624 racks, while its cloud platform now offers 31,616 vCPUs and 4.5 petabytes of storage, serving over 650 institutions nationwide.

Cybersecurity defenses remained a priority, with over 461,000 attempted cyberattacks successfully intercepted. The company maintained compliance with global security standards including ISO 27001, PCI DSS, and CSA STAR.

National Impact and Social Responsibility

Over the three-year LEAD strategy period, Ethio Telecom created over one million income and job opportunities through direct employment, retail partnerships, and network expansion. It invested 1.5 billion birr in CSR projects—450 million birr in 2024/25 alone—supporting health, education, and environmental protection initiatives.

The company also played a key role in the government’s Digital ID Program, enrolling 11 million users and generating 2.94 billion birr in revenue from registration services.

Concluding the LEAD Strategy

The LEAD Growth Strategy, launched in 2022, aimed to shift Ethio Telecom from a traditional telecom provider to a full-scale digital ecosystem enabler. Over three years, the company:

• Added 35.2 million to mobile network capacity

• Built 2,514 new mobile sites

• Deployed 2,099 km of backbone fiber

• Rolled out 838 new or improved services

• Enabled 2.96 trillion MB of mobile data traffic

• Facilitated 4.93 trillion birr in mobile money transactions

As the company looks ahead, it reaffirms its long-term commitment to accelerating Ethiopia’s digital transformation and economic competitiveness.