The Ethiopian government reportedly confirmed it cancelled the process of issuing a third telecoms licence pointing to a lack of interest, as reports surfaced last week highlighting interested parties were put off by political instability in Ethiopia.

“The licence process has been terminated. We had not launched a request for bids yet, because we wanted to assess market potential and readiness,” said Hinjat Shamil told Reuters, the senior adviser at the ministry overseeing the bidding process.