Bloomberg reported Orange and e& were considering separate bids for a 45 per cent stake in Ethiopia-owned Ethio Telecom, with early stage talks underway.

An Orange representative told Mobile World Live Ethiopia is the second-largest market by volume in Africa and is therefore “of clear interest” as continued growth on the continent is an essential part of its strategy.

“This involves both organic growth, for which we have set an average growth target of more than 7 per cent per year between 2022 and 2025, and external growth”.

Bloomberg reported Orange stated it is exploring the potential conditions of a sale of the stake.

Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance outlined details of its request for proposal process to sell the 45 per cent stake earlier this year.

Vodafone Group, Vodacom and Safaricom were part of a consortium which won the country’s first private mobile network licence in 2021 and launched services in 2022.