Vodacom Group Ltd. said that it has agreed to fund Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC, a new mobile telecommunications services provider in Ethiopia.
The company is backed by an international consortium including Safaricom PLC, Vodacom, Vodafone Group PLC, Sumitomo Corp. and CDC Group. Vodacom will have a 6.2% shareholding in the holding company, which will be majority owned by Safaricom with a 55.7% stake.
Vodacom said the license awarded to Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia is an opportunity to build out world-class services in Africa's second-largest country by population, providing a compelling long-term growth vector.