ETHIOPIA – The Global Partnership for Ethiopia (GPE) has appointed Anwar Soussa as the Managing Director of the Operating Company in Ethiopia, effective July 1, 2021.
He will report to the Board of the Ethiopia entity and Safaricom PLC Chief Executive Officer.
Anwar is currently the Managing Director of Vodacom Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Chairperson of Vodacash (M-PESA), a position he has held since 2017.
He has cemented Vodacom DRC as the largest Vodacom operation outside of South Africa by driving major strides in operational performance, crossing the US$500 million in service revenue mark for the first time in 2020.
Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa in a statement said Anwar will lead the Ethiopian Operating Company on behalf of the Global Partnership for Ethiopia Consortium.
“He will be responsible for the execution of the consortium’s goal to bring about transformational economic and social impact in Ethiopia and positively enhance the lives of its over 112 million people, Ndegwa said.
He added that Anwar will formulate strategies and plans to ensure delivery of quality and affordable mobile and internet connectivity enabling millions more Ethiopians to access quality telecom services.
Prior to joining Vodacom, Anwar served as the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel in Uganda and Chad and has also worked in various senior leadership capacities at MTN and Digicel, among other telecommunication companies.
Anwar is a Greek national who holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the American College of Greece (Deree) and a master’s degree in Marketing from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.
The consortium consists of Safaricom Plc, Vodacom Group; Vodafone Group; Sumitomo Corporation – one of the largest international trading and business investment companies; and CDC Group- the UK’s development finance institution.
Ethiopia is home to over 112 million people, making it the second-largest country in Africa by population and is one of the last countries in the world to introduce competition in the telecom industry, a rigorous process started by the government in 2019 as part of its Economic Reform Agenda, with the support of the International Finance Corporation.
The reforms aim to increase jobs, reduce poverty and grow the local economy in an inclusive and sustainable manner.
The Global Partnership for Ethiopia was created to bring about transformational economic and social impact in the country.
The provision of accessible, affordable, and high-quality mobile and internet connectivity by the Partnership will enable greater social inclusion as millions more Ethiopians access quality telecom services.
Increased connectivity in Ethiopia will also boost the economy, impacting over 1 million jobs with digital training and skills, and bringing about productivity improvements for countless micro-entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises.
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