Top Safaricom Exec Shares Insights on Ethiopian Expansion

At a conference all about Africa's budding economic powerhouses, I got the chance to sit down and chat with Chris Lazarus, in charge of Enterprise Business at Safaricom Ethiopia.

We spoke in Addis Ababa on January 27, 2023, and we dug deep into Safaricom's journey in Ethiopia, exploring the ups, downs, and everything in between.

Safaricom didn't just waltz into Ethiopia. Its expansion was part of a big push to open up Ethiopia's economy, especially the telecom sector, to boost the country's growth using tech.

But it wasn't all smooth sailing. We talked about the curveballs they faced, especially with all the conflicts Ethiopia was grappling with in recent years, and how those hurdles impacted their game plan.