Anwar Soussa, on Monday fifth, was appointed as the Managing Director (MD) of the operating company in Ethiopia by the Global Partnership for Ethiopia GPE, effective 1st July 2021.
According to Safaricom PLC, Anwar will lead the Ethiopian Operating Company on behalf of the Global Partnership for Ethiopia Consortium.
“Anwar will lead the Ethiopian Operating Company on behalf of the Global Partnership for Ethiopia Consortium,” Peter Ndegwa, Safaricom Chief Executive, said in a statement.
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Soussa, a Greek national, has served as the chief executive officer of Airtel in Uganda and Chad apart from working as a senior leader in MTN and Digicel.
He is currently the Managing Director of Vodacom DRC and the Chairperson of Vodacash (M-Pesa), a position he has held since 2017.
The new MD is expected to report to the Board of the Ethiopian entity and Safaricom PLC CEO.
Among Soussa’s other duties include 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.
He will also formulate strategies and plans to ensure the delivery of quality and affordable mobile and internet connectivity enabling millions more Ethiopians to access quality telecom services.
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Ethiopia, one of the world’s last major closed telecoms markets, is opening up its telecoms sector and hopes it will create millions of online job opportunities. Apart from the license issuance, it plans to sell a 45% stake in state-run mobile operator Ethio Telecom.