Ethiopia’s first smart card manufacturing plant, owned by the local firm Lootah Industries PLC, announced it will start operations in November 2021. The plant will produce GSM SIM cards and supply the cards to Ethio Telecom as per its agreement with the telecom company.
The high-tech facility, built at a cost of $4 million around Haile Garment area in Addis Ababa in just two years, is capable of producing 40 million smart cards per year.
Ibrahim Saeed Ahmed Lootah, Chairman of the Lootah Group of Companies, remarked theirs is “the first smart card manufacturing facility in Ethiopia and East Africa.”
“We are committed to serving the people of Ethiopia and providing them with the best technology possible,” Mr. Ibrahim said, applauding the government for “its bold vision to liberalize the economy, telecom sector and attract new high-tech industries to Ethiopia”.
As per a three-year deal signed with the state-owned telecom services provider Ethio Telecom, Lootah Industries PLC will deliver the first batch of SIM cards in November 2021, Sachin INgle, General Manager of the production facility, remarked. The company is also seeking deals with other companies, he added.
“The facility is built to world-class standards keeping in view the requirements of this industry. We invested in the best German equipment to ensure the highest standards of quality,” related Prateek Dayal, Executive Director of Lootah Industries. “We have a long-term vision, and we will move into the banking and National ID sectors soon,” he said.
The manufacturers also noted that the facility has been designed in a way so it can easily increase its production capacity to 120 million smart cards as more operators enter the country, as well as when banking and ID businesses come online and the exports start.
It is to be recalled that, pursuant of a move to liberalize the telecom industry, the Ethiopian government has granted a telecom license to a Safaricom-led consortium which is to begin operations in 2022, and has floated a bid to grant a second telecom license.
Starting a production line to manufacture Telecom Scratch cards (Voucher Cards) which can produce 1 billion PINs per year is also part of the company’s expansion plan, it has been learned.