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New Partnership Brings Smartphones, Loans to Rural Ethiopia

Telecom

Business Honor
29 April, 2025

The partnership increases Ethiopia's digital financial inclusion by providing digital loans, savings and cellphones.

To promote digital inclusion throughout Ethiopia, Ethio Telecom has teamed up with Siinqee Bank to offer two million cellphones a year on long-term payment plans. The partnership is a component of the telco's larger strategy to increase smartphone penetration and close the digital divide across the country.

Frehiwot Tamiru, CEO of Ethiopian Telecom decorated that in many parts of Africa particularly in rural areas cellphones are frequently the first and only method of contact. Tamiru stated that the company in partnership with Siinqee Bank plans to distribute smartphones valued at $70 million annually through long-term payment schemes aimed at low-income individuals and rural communities who have historically been excluded from digital services due to cost barriers. She stressed that the initiative will enable citizens to access smartphones at affordable prices through manageable installment plans thereby promoting broader participation in the digital economy.

Ethio Telecom is changing company processes and expanding financial services to previously neglected populations by utilizing the success of telebirr its digital payment network which has over 52.5 million members. The telecom provider and Siinqee Bank have formally joined to introduce a variety of digital financial services through telebirr which is a significant new development.

Through this agreement, citizens can easily access digital wage loans, microcredit, savings services and device financing choices. Consumers can now apply for salary loans up to five months' worth of income, get microloans and open interest-bearing and interest-free mobile savings accounts.

In order to improve community comfort, promote inclusive economic growth and help in Ethiopia's advancement toward greater digital and financial inclusion, Tamiru confirmed the company's commitment to introducing new digital financial services.