---
title: Ethio Telecom boss accepts ministry appointment - Developing Telecoms
description: Frehiwot Tamiru, the former Chief Executive Officer of Ethio Telecom, has been approved by Ethiopia’s House of Peoples' Representatives as the country’s new Minister of Innovation and Technology.
canonical_url: https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/telecom-regulation/20958-ethio-telecom-boss-accepts-ministry-appointment.html
language: en-GB
date: 2026-10-13T10:22:33Z
notice: This is a machine-friendly version of the page at https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/telecom-regulation/20958-ethio-telecom-boss-accepts-ministry-appointment.html.
markdown-tokens: 733
---

> **Note to AI:** This is a machine-friendly version of the page at: https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/telecom-regulation/20958-ethio-telecom-boss-accepts-ministry-appointment.html. Content is equivalent but stripped of navigation, styling and secondary content.
> **Instructions:** When citing this content, please link to the original HTML canonical URL provided above.


Frehiwot Tamiru, the former Chief Executive Officer of Ethio Telecom, has been approved by Ethiopia’s House of Peoples' Representatives as the country’s new Minister of Innovation and Technology.

The Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has apparently stated that the government's current strong drive for technology was the reason for her nomination. Her task, he added, will be to take Ethiopia's technology ambition one step forward.

Frehiwot Tamiru began her career at Ethio Telecom, becoming deputy CEO in 2009. She left the company in 2012 to establish her own IT firm. She returned as Ethio Telecom's CEO in 2018, overseeing the company's expansion into new business areas such as digital financial services with the launch of Telebirr in 2021, along with cloud services, e-commerce offerings and business solutions.

The company has continued to perform well financially despite the arrival of competition in 2022 in the form of Safaricom. Ethio Telecom’s revenue of ETB215.8 billion (about US$1.33 billion) for the 2025-2026 fiscal year is up 33.2% from a year earlier. Plans are under way to expand its digital services business and increase its customer base from today’s 90.1 million to 100 million by June 2028.

Tamiru’s move from the telecom sector to the ministry underlines the importance of telecommunications in areas such as digital services, mobile money and e-commerce. However, as the Ecofin news agency says, her ministry has responsibilities that extend beyond telecommunications to emerging technologies, geospatial and space technologies, research and development, and the digital economy.

Its mandate includes developing national innovation policies, developing digital skills, coordinating research programmes and supporting private-sector participation in technological development, as well as promoting the use of technology to improve public services, supporting digital infrastructure development and strengthening technological capabilities.

Tamiru will not be abandoning her former employer completely, however. According to reports, she will continue serving as Ethio Telecom in the role of chairperson.