Ethio Telecom Lists on Ethiopian Securities Exchange, Confirms 96 Per cent of Applicants as Investors

Ethio Telecom has officially listed on the Ethiopian Securities Exchange, becoming the fourth company and the first non financial institution to join the trading platform, in a landmark move for Ethiopia’s emerging capital market.

The listing also makes Ethio Telecom the first state owned enterprise to be publicly traded on the exchange, following a partial opening of its ownership to investors.

According to the company, about 47,377 Ethiopian citizens participated in its share offering, with 96 percent, representing roughly 45,000 investors, successfully verified and confirmed as shareholders eligible to trade on the exchange.

Ethio Telecom chief executive officer Frehiwot Tamiru said the verification process was necessary to review investor identities in line with regulatory requirements set by the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority. She added that approved shareholders have now been fully integrated into the system for secondary market trading.

She also disclosed that about 3.4 percent of applicants, or 1,646 individuals, were not approved due to missing national identification numbers, but will be validated once they provide the required Fayda national ID. In addition, 248 applicants were disqualified for not being Ethiopian citizens, with their payments set to be refunded.

The company previously floated 100 million ordinary shares, representing a 10 percent stake, in an initial public offering that closed in April 2025. The shares were priced at 300 birr each and were sold exclusively to Ethiopian citizens through the telebirr mobile money platform.

Investors were required to purchase a minimum of 33 shares, while a maximum limit of 3,333 shares was imposed. However, the IPO raised only about 3.2 billion birr, significantly below its 30 billion birr target, as 10.7 million shares were sold out of the 100 million offered.

With the listing now active on the Ethiopian Securities Exchange, shareholders can begin buying, selling, and transferring Ethio Telecom shares on the secondary market, marking a major step in the development of Ethiopia’s capital market and broader financial sector reform.

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