Tag: telecommunication

Orange expresses interest for stake in Ethio Telecom

Frank

ETHIOPIA – French multinational telecommunications company Orange has submitted an expression of interest to participate in the ongoing partial privatization of Ethiopia’s Ethio Telecom firm for an undisclosed value, Ethiopia’s ambassador to Paris has revealed. Henok Teferra Shawl said in a tweet Orange had “formally submitted an interest to participate in the partial privatization of @ethiotelecom.” In June 2021, Ethiopia launched a tendering process for the proposed sell-off of a 40% stake in the state-owned carrier Ethio Telecom to private investors, part of the government’s broader plan to open up the Horn…

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Telkom South Africa CEO Sipho Maseko to step down after eight years at the helm

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA -Telkom South Africa group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sipho Maseko is leaving the telecommunications company after eight years at the helm. In a press statement, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed firm says Maseko will step down as group CEO and executive director of Telkom and its subsidiaries on 30 June 2022. The process to appoint a successor is well underway and a designated group CEO will be announced in the not too distant future, says the telco. The statement added that Maseko would, for the remainder of his tenure,…

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Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia granted operator license

Frank

ETHIOPIA – The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) has announced that Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC has been issued with a final licence even as reports surface that over half of the winning consortium’s financing could be in doubt due to US sanctions. The ECA awarded the final licence “following the incorporation of the local company and business registration by the Global Partnership for Ethiopia” (GPE Consortium). The Safaricom-led consortium received a designated licence in May 2021 after winning the bid and was given 45 days to register a local company. “The…

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Djibouti to sell minority stake in state-owned telco

Frank

DJIBOUTI – The government of Djibouti has launched a tender process to partly privatise state-owned carrier Djibouti Telecom, part of a plan to modernise the economy and revamp government firms. “The state will offer a minority and significant portion of its shareholding to a first-rate strategic partner,” the government said in a statement after a cabinet meeting to approve the plan. The telco, one of the last state-owned national monopolies on the continent, has about 410,000 mobile subscribers, according to 2019 World Bank data. It was not known how much…

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Vodafone Ghana partners Invest In Africa to enhance digital capabilities for local businesses

Frank

GHANA – Invest In Africa (IIA), an enterprise focused on growing local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sub-Saharan Africa to deliver positive economic impacts and create jobs, has partnered with Vodafone Ghana to support local businesses by enhancing their digital capabilities. The partnership will provide local SMEs with tailor-made digital solutions to enable them to adapt to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, continue interacting with customers online and grow their businesses. Some of the customised ICT solutions to be provided by IIA and Vodafone to SMEs in…

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Israeli’s Spacecom set to acquire 9.3% stake in Nuran Wireless

Frank

AFRICA – Spacecom, an Israeli satellite operator, is buying a 9.3% stake in rural connectivity provider Nuran Wireless to deepen its presence across Africa. The US$3.2 million deal includes exclusive rights for providing satellite capacity and bandwidth to Canada-based Nuran’s future operations in Africa, where Spacecom provides services with its Amos-17 spacecraft. It also covers managed services contracts Nuran has to extend French telco Orange’s mobile network in Cameroon and Congo. “The companies’ combined expertise and experience will ignite the potential of the rural market,” Nuran CEO Francis Letourneau said.…

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AIIM, Adenia and IFC invests US$130m in Eastcastle Infrastructure, acquires majority stake

Frank

AFRICA – Infrastructure-focused private equity fund managers, The African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), Adenia Partners (Adenia), a private equity firm investing in Africa, and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, have partnered to invest a total of US$130 million to support Eastcastle Infrastructure (Eastcastle), a company specializing in Africa’s telecoms tower sector. The funding will support Eastcastle’s build-to-suit strategy, to develop new telecom towers initially in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire. The number of towers across the region needs to increase significantly to accelerate the deployment of bandwidth…

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Vodafone Cash partners payments company WorldRemit for seamless money transfers

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Vodafone extends zero charge on mobile money transfers

GHANA – Vodafone Ghana’s mobile financial services, Vodafone Cash has partnered with global cross-border payments company WorldRemit to enable its customers to receive international money transfers straight to their mobile money accounts without any charges. The service allows Vodafone Cash customers to seamlessly receive international money transfers from their family and friends in the UK, Canada, Australia, the USA, and others. This partnership between two global brands eliminates the stress, risks, long queues and other challenges associated with visiting agents to access remittances from overseas. “Our partnership with WorldRemit is…

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Christopher Lundh appointed as Chief Executive Officer for Africell Angola

Frank

ANGOLA – Africell Group has announced the appointment of Christopher Lundh as Chief Executive Officer of Africell Angola. Under Mr. Lundh’s stewardship, Africell is expected to deliver on its promise to transform the Angolan telecoms sector by providing affordable, reliable and high-quality mobile telecommunications services to millions of consumers. Christopher Lundh joins Africell after five years as a Managing Director and Chief Commercial Officer of Afghan Wireless. The American national previously held senior leadership roles at companies including Telecel Congo, Africa Online, and Gateway Communications and has extensive experience in…

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MTN Nigeria set to invest US$1.5bn to expand broadband access in the country

Frank

NIGERIA – MTN Nigeria, a mobile telecommunications company, has announced plans to invest N640 billion (US$1.5 billion), over the next three years to expand broadband access across the continent’s most populous country. The invest is in line with the federal government’s 2020-2025 National Broadband Plan and in support of MTN Group’s strategy, Ambition 2025: Leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress. “Nigeria is one of our most important markets. We have a proud history of partnering with Nigeria and Nigerians to drive faster and more inclusive growth through digital transformation,” said…

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