Safaricom Ethiopia Debt II

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Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC (STEP or “the company”) was granted Ethiopia’s unified telecommunication service license in May 2021. In June 2023, IFC committed a US$157.4 equity investment in Global Partnership for Ethiopia (GPE) (https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/ESRS/44591/global-partners) and a US$100 million loan to STEP (https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/ESRS/45197/gpe-debt), which have had satisfactory environmental and social (E&S) performance. STEP has commenced with the development and rollout of their national telecommunication network and mobile money service, having deployed over 2,200 sites covering ˜28% of the population, with 6.5 million subscribers to date.IFC’s further proposed loan of up to US$350 million will support STEP with the ongoing expansion of its telecommunication network and mobile money services and enhance the competitiveness of the local telecommunications market. The proposed loan will consist of an up to US$150-200 million own account investment and mobilization of up to US$150-200 million from other development finance institutions (DFIs) and lenders.