Ethiopia has officially launched Digital Ethiopia 2030, a new five-year strategy aimed at ensuring sustainable digital transformation across all sectors of the economy. Digital Ethiopia 2030 strategy launching ceremony was held on Saturday (December 20), with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other high-ranking officials in attendance.
Regarding the event and the launch of the Digital Ethiopia 2030 strategy, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that Digital Ethiopia 2025 has been completed after achieving its intended goals to an almost full extent. “As of today, we have officially launched Digital Ethiopia 2030. Expanding accessibility, creating equal opportunities for citizens, and strengthening trust between citizens and institutions are among the key foundational pillars of the strategy,” he said.
In his welcoming remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh, who is also Chairperson of the National Digital Transformation Council, said Ethiopia possesses both the ambition and the capacity to achieve sustained growth. “Ethiopia is a country with the desire and the capacity to grow. In this regard, Ethiopia’s digital agenda is helping align our aspiration for growth with our capabilities by fostering innovation, speed, and efficiency,” he said.
Following the Deputy Prime Minister’s remarks, presentations were delivered by relevant institutions for the success of this strategy. The Digital Ethiopia 2030 Strategy is people-centered and implemented with attention given to all sectors, according to Myriam Ali, Digital Advisor at the Office of the Prime Minister (PMO). She explained that the strategy builds on the expansion of digital infrastructure achieved under Digital Ethiopia 2025, with a strong emphasis on demonstrating tangible results.
The strategy comes at a critical juncture as Ethiopia seeks to leverage its immense demographic dividend, with 70 percent of its 130 million citizens under the age of 30. According to the advisor, “The strategy will be implemented over the next five years based on a transparent governance system, measurable outcomes, and accountability.” To achieve this, all relevant stakeholders are expected to work collaboratively, she noted.
“Digital Ethiopia 2025 has recorded numerous achievements in the telecommunications sector. For example, the number of mobile subscribers has reached 97 million, of which 57 million are internet users,” Frehiwot Tamru, Chief Executive Officer of Ethio Telecom, indicated during the occasion. In addition, 1,030 towns now have access to 4G network coverage, according to the CEO.
Under the Digital Ethiopia 2030 Strategy, the number of mobile subscribers is expected to reach 128 million, and 5G network coverage will reach 100 percent. She added that by 2030, special emphasis will also be placed on expanding digital payments, aiming for growth of more than sevenfold compared to their current contribution to the national GDP.
On her part, Director General of the Information and Network Security Administration ,Tigest Hamid, , revealed that under the Digital Ethiopia 2025 Strategy, several enabling foundations have been laid in the area of cybersecurity. “By building our own cloud infrastructure, trust in Ethiopia’s digital services has been strengthened. In addition, a digital forensics laboratory has been established for security institutions and made operational,” she said.
Cybersecurity has been given strategic priority under Digital Ethiopia 2030, Tigest pointed out. She further elaborated that efforts will focus on building resilient critical digital infrastructure, upgrading public infrastructure, establishing an incident response center, and strengthening cybersecurity work that includes private-sector institutions.
Under Digital Ethiopia 2030, numerous initiatives will be implemented to expand the artificial intelligence ecosystem, according to Worku Gachena , Director General of the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute. “Beyond using our own cloud infrastructure, efforts will be made to establish an effective data governance system. Accordingly, structured data will be used for decision-making, and an independent national data authority will be made operational,” he said. Attention is also being given to integrating and standardizing digital service delivery, he added.
Yodahie Arayaselassie, National ID Program Coordinator, said for his part that the Fayda Digital ID has been implemented as a key component of the Digital Ethiopia 2025 Strategy. Currently, 30 million citizens have been registered for the Fayda ID.
“Under Digital Ethiopia 2030, Fayda has also been given strategic importance, with efforts underway to make it fully accessible. In particular, services at the lowest administrative levels will be integrated with Fayda to achieve the goals set out in the strategy,” he said. This, he pointed out, will require collaborative efforts from all stakeholders.
The event concluded with a shared emphasis on coordinated implementation of the Digital Ethiopia 2030 Strategy, with institutions outlining their respective roles and areas of responsibility.