Safaricom Ethiopia has restored approximately 250 network sites that were forcibly shut down for about a week in late September amid renewed fighting in the country’s northern Tigray region.
Speaking during Safaricom’s half-year 2027 investor earnings call on November 5, Ethiopia CEO Wim Vanhelleputte said the disruption had been contained, with no lasting damage to the company’s employees, assets or daily operations.
“Today, the impact is very limited, although the situation remains a bit volatile,” Vanhelleputte told investors, adding that operations had returned to a manageable position.
The restoration comes as Safaricom’s Ethiopian business gains financial ground. For the six months ended September 2026, the unit recorded service revenue of KSh10.6 billion, up 71.6% from KSh6.2 billion a year earlier.
That represents approximately 4.7% of Safaricom Group’s KSh226.1 billion service revenue, while contributing 17% of the group’s revenue growth. Its EBITDA loss also narrowed by 96.5% to KSh434.4 million.
Safaricom Ethiopia had more than 3,500 network sites at the start of September, covering about 60% of the population.
The business is targeting EBITDA break-even by March 2027, making network stability critical to sustaining its growth.