Artificial intelligence is evolving rapidly worldwide while remaining largely unregulated, particularly in developing nations. Companies must establish their own governance frameworks, yet Ethio telecom lags significantly behind global counterparts in digitalisation generally and AI specifically. Ethiopia’s regulatory landscape remains insufficient regarding both digitalisation and AI, making this a critical area requiring substantial attention from legislators and business leaders.

Data compliance emerges as another complex priority area requiring vigilant corporate attention. In today’s digital economy, information represents our most valuable resource. Companies must demonstrate agility in properly utilising and protecting data, as failures may incur severe losses and legal accountability. Ethiopia recently enacted the Personal Data Protection Proclamation No. 1321/2024, whose preamble explicitly cites establishing a robust data protection framework aligned with international standards and facilitating beneficial cross-border data transfers as primary objectives.

The prevalence of resource scarcity intensifies global corporate competition, with the telecom sector undergoing particularly significant transformations nationally and internationally. Ethiopia’s telecom liberalisation and new market entrants make competition law concerns inevitable, especially regarding market regulation, ensuring this will remain a key corporate focus area.

Consumer protection compliance grows increasingly critical worldwide, particularly as AI’s expansion introduces novel consumer threats. This will likely prompt nations and corporations to prioritise developing uniform global consumer protection standards in the coming years.

Tech-driven initiatives like digital transformation, AI, digital payments and IoT create unprecedented demand for digital infrastructure and data storage – an urgent concern both currently and prospectively. For companies like Ethio Telecom, this necessitates robust systems to combat technology-enabled fraud risks effectively.

Regarding corporate reputation, companies invest heavily in brand enhancement through superior service delivery and customer experience. Key focus areas include maintaining transparency, ethical business conduct, community engagement and environmental initiatives, with substantial efforts needed to align corporate identity with national branding objectives.

Have you had any experiences during your career as a lawyer that stand out as particularly unique or interesting?