Ethio Telecom’s Search for Partners Narrows Down to 11 Companies

Ethio telecom, the state-owned telecom giant, has deemed 11 local companies eligible to partner with for opening 94 franchised shops in 89 towns of the country.

The partnership is intended for opening shops to retail goods such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones, and provide maintenance services.

The bid, which was extended thrice, to select franchisees was opened on January 9, 2017, at the premises of the Company along Churchill Avenue. The move comes a month after the announcement of the tender that initially attracted the attention of 13 businesses.

During the opening of the tender, all companies that presented their documents passed the preliminary technical evaluation except for two. The fate of one is yet to be decided, whereas the other was rejected for its capital was below the requirement.

Business licences, value-added tax (VAT) certificates, bid security, as well as capital were gauged in the preliminary stage of evaluation. The bidders’ affidavit was also reviewed during the assessment.

“We are planning to allow the private sector to engage more in the telecom industry as it is expanding,” Andualem Admase (PhD), CEO of Ethio telecom told Fortune. “Unless we share some services, the telecom needs cannot be fulfilled by a single provider.”

This is not the first time when the telecom giant attempted to partner with private companies; the last one was to sell Internet or data in collaboration with private firms, according to Andualem.

Hidassie Telecom S.C is amongst the bidders that made it to the post-technical stage of evaluation. Previously, the Company, along with Ethiopian Postal Service and Kifiya Financial Technologies had been involved in a project launched to pilot the feasibility of franchise shops in Addis Abeba.

Bravocom Plc, former sole agent of NOKIA Mobile apparatus, Elebat Solution Plc, agent-banking solution provider, ZGG Electromechanical Engineering, known for its engagement in telecom, electrical and mechanical engineering services, also qualified to the next round.

Upon the realisation of the partnership, each of the franchise shops will have support teams and engineers to provide maintenance services, besides selling goods.

“The Company takes a step forward to welcome private investment,” said Solomon Ambaye, an associate professor at Addis Abeba University, experienced in Commercial Law. “But, it is difficult to call the partnership a franchise as no law governs such pacts.”

He believes that the enactment of a law for franchise agreements will help such partnerships to grow nationwide.

Ethio telecom started seeking partners just a month after it launched an electronic payment system in its 214 service centres for 62 million subscribers.

One of the largest telecom providers in Africa, it has recently launched Equipment Identity Registration System (EIRS) to register phones and neutralised 2.7 million cloned mobile apparatuses with fraudulent identity codes.

The telecom company expects to finalise the evaluation and announce the winning firms in three months’ time.


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