ETHIOPIAN state-owned telecoms company Ethio Telecom posted a 14% rise in half-year profit helped by growth in its mobile phone-based financial service Telebirr. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to 19.77 billion birr ($352 million) while revenue grew by 26% to 42.86 billion, CEO Frehiwot Tamiru said in a statement. Subscribers to Telebirr, launched in May 2021, grew to 41 million of its 74.6 million total subscribers, Frehiwot said while handling transactions worth 910.7 billion birrs. Ethio Telecom, a former monopoly, competes with Safaricom Ethiopia, which launched commercial mobile network services in October 2022 after winning the…