Ethiopia opens up telecoms, airline to private, foreign investors

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed

Ethiopia said on Tuesday it would open its state-run telecoms monopoly and state-owned Ethiopian Airlines to private domestic and foreign investment, a major policy shift that will loosen the state’s grip on the economy.

The East African nation of 100 million people has one of the most closed and controlled economies in Africa. The ruling EPRDF coalition, in power since 1991, has long supported deep state involvement in the economy.