Ethio Telecom Says "Hold My ጠጅ!"

Welcome to the 85th edition of ፍራንክ Digest!

Your weekly brief on all things Finance and Investing. Quick, enjoyable reads for busy professionals in 5 minutes or less.

Here’s what’s coming your way:

• 🚫 Business as Usual at Ethio Telecom: “You Downloaded What?! Blocked!”

• 💅 Casually Skipping a Technological Revolution

• 🗝️ The Key Takeaways

Thanks for reading!

When “For Everyone” Lasts 48 Hours

Economy

The Story in Three Lines
→ Safaricom Ethiopia launched M-PESA Lehulum, an app meant to work on any telecom network in Ethiopia.
→ Within about two days, users on Ethio Telecom’s network found the app blocked and their money effectively trapped.
→ The World Bank had already warned that Ethio Telecom plays dirty on competition, and foreign banks eyeing Ethiopia are definitely taking notes.

Here we go again.

On one side, Ethio Telecom, the near monopoly with 90% market share. On the other, Safaricom Ethiopia, the 2022 newcomer still adjusting to the country’s unique definition of competition.

On Dec 1st, Safaricom’s mobile money arm launched M-PESA Lehulum. The idea is in the name: “ለሁሉም” as in “for everyone”. A network-neutral app that anyone can use regardless of whether their SIM starts with 07 (Safaricom) or 09 (Ethio Telecom).

For 48 glorious hours, it looked like a genuine step forward. One app, two networks, more choice, zero drama.

Then the plot twist arrived, right on schedule.

The new Lehulum app was effectively blocked, with Safaricom saying it was not accessible on smartphones using mobile data services managed by Ethio Telecom. Customers on Tele’s network could not log in, could not transact and could not retrieve funds they had already deposited.

M-PESA says it has alerted the National Bank of Ethiopia and other authorities. In the meantime, some customers who eagerly tried this new “for everyone” wallet are discovering that “everyone” has conditions.

So much for fair play.

Is Ethio Telecom Just Buying Time?

There is still no explanation from Ethio Telecom, but it seems a classic case of “If I can’t have you, no one can” moment.