Ethiopia plans to welcome a third mobile operator due to increased demand for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) broadband services.

This is according to Brook Taye, CEO of Ethiopia Investment Holdings, which controls Ethiopia Telecom, the country’s biggest and government-owned telecoms services provider.

Taye mentioned this in an interview with Reuters, also revealing that Ethio Telecom will become the first company to list on Ethiopia's new stock market next week when the government sells a 10% stake in the company.

The privatisation of state-owned firms is part of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's efforts to attract more private investment to the country.

According to the news agency, floating 10% of Ethio Telecom is the first step in the government's plan to sell a further 45% ownership in the telecoms company to investors.

"This is something that we have to look into after the 10% sale, because that will give us a sense of valuation," Taye told Reuters.

Ethiopia's telecoms industry, which serves a population of over 120 million, is regarded as a valuable treasure in the government's efforts to open up the economy.

Ethio Telecom had a monopoly until a consortium led by Kenya's Safaricom acquired the country's first private telecoms licence and began commercial operations in 2022.

According to Reuters, Taye also said the government was open to relaunch the tendering process for a second private telecoms licence.

"We still think that this is a three-operator market, especially when you add the B2B and B2C sector, and broadband services to houses and offices. It's a huge opportunity.

"So we're still very much interested and welcome any interest from operators."

Ethio Telecom's listing next week follows recent moves by the company to build a digital infrastructure partnership with China's Shandong Hi-Speed Qianfang International Technology, Ogranak Beograd.

The agreement with the Chinese business will see the company construct a hyperscale data centre in Ethiopia.

Ethio Telecom noted that its goal is to improve the country's digital infrastructure and meet the growing demand for data storage and processing capacity.

"The proposed partnership involves the construction of a large-scale data centre that will provide secure, reliable and high-capacity data storage services to local and international clients," the telco said recently.

The facility, according to Ethio Telecom, is expected to cater to the increasing data needs of various sectors, including finance, healthcare and e-commerce, thereby contributing to Ethiopia's digital transformation.