Mobile World - Issue 47 | 2014 by Instinct Wave

www.mobileworldmag.com

PUBLISHER’S THOUGHT

mHealth in Africa

call away, a text away and you could save a life! Yes, Mobile health (mHealth) applications such as text messages could save more than a million lives in Sub-Saharan Africa over the next five years, according to a report.

The report, produced by consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India, says that mobile phone interventions to ensure patients comply with treatment, medical stock is available and healthcare workers stick to treatment guidelines could save some of the three million lives lost each year across Africa to HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), malaria and pregnancy-related conditions. Though there is still low adoption despite the immense benefits, Shashank Tripathi, leader of the strategy and research practice at PwC India said Africa’s low adoption of mHealth solutions is mainly due to a lack of health literacy among patients. But overall, things have changed for the better when it comes to health and technology, mhealth positive incursion brings great relief to millions of Africans. The continent has experienced an incredible boom in mobile phone use. In 1998, there were fewer than 4 million mobile subscriptions on the continent, but today, there are more than 800 million subscriptions, and this is projected to reach 1.12 billion subscriptions by 2017. Mobile technologies have the potential to transform the face of healthcare by serving as vehicles for delivering specific health interventions. This of health service delivery, is seen as a complementary strategy for strengthening health systems and achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in low-income countries. Today, countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa are leading the way in using mHealth solutions for health service delivery, and this is driven by the convergence of a myriad of factors – expanding penetration of mobile networks in rural communities, reduced costs of mobile handsets, general increase in non-food expenditure and innovative technologies that integrate mobile applications with traditional health service delivery models. mHealth has found applications in treatment compliance, data collection and disease surveillance, health information dissemination, point-of-care support for health

workers, health promotion, emergency medical response, as well as drug supply-chain management. mHealth implementation in Africa has the potential to improve health outcomes in many ways. The portability and ‘always on’ features of mobile phones, along with their increasing capability to carry and transfer data, make them unique for relaying health information. In addition, the functional and structural properties, namely, low start cost, text messaging and flexible data plans make mobile phones attractive for use in healthcare interventions. In pilot projects across the continent, the short messaging service (SMS) application has been successfully used to remind patients to take drugs and attend appointments. Also, Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) and Point-of-Care support projects for healthcare workers, utilising mobile technologies, have been piloted across Africa with good results. A pilot project using an SMS and web-based data collection tool that enables health workers at district health centres to submit weekly HMIS reports with a focus on disease outbreaks and essential medicines in Uganda proved successful and is currently being rolled out to the country’s 5,000 health facilities.

tervention Scheme is delivered in partnership with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) is bound to enhance the efforts of the Federal and State Ministries of Health, towards improving health care delivery in Nigeria. Despite these successes, challenges remain. A major challenge to the implementation of mHealth on the continent is the lack of standardisation and regulatory frameworks to guide its scale-up. In addition, inadequate monitoring and evaluation and use of meaningful, consistent indicators and rigorous evaluation methods for cost-effectiveness may make it difficult to scale up mHealth interventions. The healthcare systems of many African countries are constrained by high population growth, high disease burden, inadequate health workforce, widespread rural populations and limited financial resources. mHealth is one innovative and potentially effective solution to overcome these constraints.

Enjoy this edition!

Akin Naphtal Group Executive Publisher, anaphtal@mobileworldmag.com

In December 2013, MTNN Foundation commissioned the MTNF Y’ello Doctor Mobile Medical Intervention Scheme. Mike Ikpoki, MTN CEO, flagged off the project with the unveiling of four branded Y’ello Doctor Mobile trucks, at the MTN Corporate Head Office, Golden Plaza in Nigeria. The MTNF Y’ello Doctor Mobile Medical Intervention Scheme aims to improve the quality of Primary Health Care in Nigeria, through the deployment of six state-of-the-art Mobile Clinics (stocked with consumables and drugs), designed to provide maternal and child health services, as well as interventions for communicable/non-communicable diseases, to communities in six states across the country. These purpose-built vehicles will be deployed to Ogun, Delta, Abia and Taraba states in the first instance, while two other vehicles will be deployed early next year to one state each in the North-Central and North-West geopolitical zones of the country. The MTNF Y’ello Doctor Mobile Medical In-

Group Publisher Akin Naphtal

Editor Anita Moritiwon

Acting Group Editor Kehinde Olesin

Reporters Derrick Tagoe Deborah Arthur

Contributing Editors David Ajao Terry Washington

Business Development Gina Ibeh

IT/Online Reporter Tope Ajayi

Writer Michael Philips Victoria Johnson

Associate Editor, Ghana Carol Opata

Social Media Executive Julius Ofori Boadu

IT & Research, Ghana Henry Gyedu

Creative Manager Isaac Agyeman - Duah

Published By:

NIG 3a, Shomoye Tejuosho Close, off Ogunmodede Street, Allen, Ikeja, Lagos. Tel: +234 1 291 5803 Mob: +234 806 3603521 +234 8161342518

UK Unit 2, Anchor Bay Ind. Estate Manor Road, Erith, Kent, DA8 2QA Tel: +44 777 510 9698 info@mobileworldmag.com www.mobileworldmag.com

GH: 6, Motorway Extension, Dzorwulu, Accra, Ghana Mob: +233 208 910 380, Tel: +233 302432849

Liability While every care has been taken in the preparation of this magazine, the publishers cannot be responsible for the accuracy of information in herein, or any consequence arising from it. MobileWorld is a controlled circulation magazine and not available on newsstand. It is free to qualified readers worldwide. c Instinct Media Limited 2013

No part of this publication may be used, copied or www.mobileworldmag.com 3

reproduced without prior consent of the publisher.

www.mobileworldmag.com

Contents

MobileWorld

Issue 47 | 2014

COVER STORY

REPOSITIONING NIGERIA TELECOMS FOR GROWTH 8. FEATURES

NEWS

7. Access Bank, Airtel

partner to launch Access Money

16. Mobile Payment Transactions in Sub Sahara Africa Lagging Behind

19. MoboFree: The Swap is the Edge

12. Glo Ghana empowers

subs to call Nigeria free on Glo Kappah

14. Vantage Mezzanine

Invests $30 million in Ghana’s Surfline Communications

26. Konga Launches

20. Africa; becoming a mobile Continent

22. Gemalto survey in Africa: 80% voice interest for mobile marketing if in line with “right person, right message, right moment” golden rule

Engineering Center with Massive Team of Nigerian Engineers

29. Onyeche Tifase

Appointed as First Female CEO of Siemens Nigeria

31. Ericsson Mobility

Report: Mobile subscriptions in Africa near the billion mark

24. Tigo: The Network for the Music Lovers

28. Mobile Phone Penetration On the Rise in Rwanda

32. MTN Ghana Debuts First Data Flagship Store

38. IHS Raises $2.6 Billion in Equity

www.mobileworldmag.com

Microsoft Lumia 535: “5x5x5” Innovation With An Affordable Price Tag

Jo Harlow, Corporate Vice President for Phones at Microsoft

icrosoft Corp. announced today the Microsoft Lumia 535 and Lumia 535 Dual SIM smartphones running the latest Windows Phone 8.1 operating system, bringing the latest Microsoft experiences to more affordable price levels.

•

Experience Cortana, a truly personal virtual assistant that anticipates people’s needs and makes tailored suggestions.

Offering five great integrated Microsoft experiences, a wide-angle 5 megapixel front facing camera, and a spacious 5 inch display - all for an affordable price - Lumia 535 and Lumia 535 Dual SIM help people do more of what they want, for less.

•

Connect with work and personal e-mail while on the go, with Microsoft Outlook built-in.

•

Showcase photos and videos or get even more productive with Office on the large, 5 inch qHD display.

•

Fit more memorable backgrounds or add more friends into Skype video calls and selfies with the 5 MP wide angle front facing camera.

•

Never miss a call or text, and be reachable on both SIM cards at any time with Smart Dual SIM for

•

Make memorable Skype video calls and seamlessly switch between voice and video with built-in Skype integration.

•

Access, edit and share Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents and OneNote notebooks wherever you are, with the preinstalled Office suite.

Save and sync photos, videos and Office documents securely with 15GB of free OneDrive cloud storage.

maximum flexibility. Speaking on this, Jo Harlow, Corporate Vice President for Phones at Microsoft said “Lumia 535 comes

with our “5x5x5” proposition, “Innovation should be available to everyone, and we are doing this through the very best integrated Microsoft services free and out-of-the-box, a 5 MP wide-angle front-facing camera and a spacious 5 inch, qHD screen – all at an affordable price.” Lumia 535 and Lumia 535 Dual SIM will begin rolling out to key markets in November, and will be available in bright green, bright orange, white, dark grey, cyan and black. Pricing for Lumia 535 and Lumia 535 Dual SIM will vary by market and operator, but is estimated to be around 22,000 Naira (110 Euros) before taxes and subsidies. www.mobileworldmag.com

MD, CEO, Airtel, Segun Ogunsanya signing the MoU, with him is Access Bank’s GMD, Herbert Wigwe during the launch of Access Money powered by Airtel.

Access Bank, Airtel partner to launch Access Money

eading financial institution, Access Bank Plc has collaborated with foremost telecom operator, Airtel to develop and launch mobile money service, Access Money powered by Airtel. This service allows customers to perform simple, secure and instant financial transactions using their mobile phones. With this innovative service, customers on the mobile network can send and receive money, make deposits and withdrawals, pay their utility bills and buy airtime for their lines. Added to the convenience this service provides is the ability of customers to receive money through agents nationwide or through card-less withdrawals from any Access Bank ATM machine. Speaking at the launch of the product, Group Managing Director of Access Bank, Mr. Herbert Wigwe said, “Through Access Money, we will be providing financial access to more and more people and small busi-

nesses; creating an easier channel for the distribution of financial aid; and also making it easier for government to receive taxes and deliver welfare payments”.

According to him, Access bank and Airtel agreed to introduce Access Money powered by Airtel, into Nigeria’s financial landscape in line with the Financial Inclusion initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) even as it serves as a platform bring more and more of the under-banked and unbanked into the world of banking. “It is something that reaches new groups of people and helps them to build and grow the success stories of tomorrow. And it’s something we are proud to champion.” In his comments the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, noted that Airtel as an innovative operator in Nigeria’s telecoms market was strategic in partnering Access Bank also one of the leading financial institutions in Nigeria to create an enabling avenue for millions of

Nigerians to gain financial inclusion. With Access money powered by Airtel, millions of Nigerians will be able to make purchases, pay for services and receive payments by the touch of a simple button on their phones. “We are indeed proud of our partnership with Access Bank and hope that many Nigerians will take advantage of this product”: he said. To deposit money into their Access Money powered by Airtel wallet, customers can go to authorised agents, any Access Bank or a registered Access Money user can transfer from their own bank account to any wallet. Customers will receive confirmation or notifications SMS for transactions performed. The service is also aimed at promoting financial inclusion for those with no access to formal financial services. This collaboration between Airtel and Access Bank will deepen financial inclusion and bring more Nigerians into the formal financial system. This will serve to support CBN’s financial inclusion target of 80% of Nigerians by 2020.

www.mobileworldmag.com

Dr. Eugene Juwah,

Executive Vice Chairman /CE, Nigerian Communications Commission www.mobileworldmag.com

Repositioning Nigeria Telecoms for Growth

n July, the Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, the apex regulatory body for the telecoms industry rolled out a new telecommunications sector corporate governance code. The corporate governance code targeted at protecting the over $25 billion investment recorded in the industry was highly praised by the stakeholders in the sector. According to Eugene Juwah, executive vice chairman, NCC, the code became necessary to reposition the sector, to enable it contribute even more to the country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product). With this backdrop, it was not a surprise when the figures for the rebased GDP of the country came out; the telecoms sector came out in flying colours, the sector was the star performer and the continuance effort by the NCC to make the sector well grounded and contributory to the economy was a story well told. The figures tell it all. According to the rebased GDP data, the telecommunications and information services sector currently contributes 8.68 per cent to the Nigerian economy, equivalent to N6.97 trillion ($44.3 billion) out of the total rebased GDP estimate of N80.22 trillion ($510 billion). This compares with N364.4 billion ($2.3 billion) in the 2012 non-rebased GDP time series thereby positioning Nigeria’s telecoms sector ahead of other newly added ones, as the star performer in Nigeria’s rebased GDP figures.

Industry watchers have said that if the programmes and other collaborations by the Nigerian Communications Commission with the supervising Ministry of Communication Technology are anything to go by, the telecoms sector is set for a sustained development.

GAINING MOMENTUM WITH NEW PLAYERS Earlier in January, the NCC auctioned the 30MHz slot of the 2.3 gigahertz spectrum to Bitflux, which is a consortium of three companies. In addition, licences are to be issued to seven new infrastructure companies, InfraCos, before the end of 2014, to deepen broadband infrastructure rollout across the country. In Juwah’s words- “We are also going to license more retail services and encourage the operators where possible to extend fibre to homes and businesses on their own. Government is committed to providing incentives to winners of infrastructure licenses, “he said. According to him, InfraCos would enjoy government support, hence would be getting funding from government to rollout nationwide broadband infrastructure. “We are ready to provide subsidy to simplify entry. However, such a subsidy will come on the basis of milestones achieved to ensure that we are realistic in the venture”, he said. Following the successful auction of the remaining 30MHz spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band in February this year, the Commission has concluded arrangements to license another available frequency slot in the 3.5 GHz band. This new plan, would be as transparent and successful as the 2.3 GHz spectrum auction that saw the emergence of Bitflux as winner.

“NCC, in exercise of its functions as contained in the NCC Act 2003, is pleased to announce to interested public, the availability of 3.5 GHz band in some states and the federal capital territory, which the commission is willing to sell to the public.” According to the regulator,

The spectrum is available in 27 states and Abuja, with all the states having 25 MHz bandwidth available, except for Abuja that has only 20 MHz bandwidth. The spectrum is expected to be licensed on a state by state basis in the states where it is available, which means that winners of the spectrum licence will operate within the state or states where the licence is situated. Also, the commission has directed interested candidates to show interest, and enable it release a timetable for the auction the 700MHz spectrum band licence is planned for auctioning in 2015.

INVESTMENT ATTITUDE We must recall that the Commission had at the beginning of the year sketched and adopted a five-year Strategic Master Plan (SMP) that will run from 2013 to 2017. SMP, according to the industry regulator, is designed as an operational and management template that will not only ensure further increase in telecom investment in the country but also www.mobileworldmag.com

improve upon the regulator’s functions and framework that will in turn, see to a more market-driven communications industry, promote universal access and make the commission a responsible world-class regulator. Prior to the telecoms revolution in the country from August 2001, investment in the sector was very scanty, recording a paltry $500 million and 450,000 telephone lines as investment yield. Today, investment in the sector has shot up to over $32 billion with over 129 million active telephone lines. Also, teledensity which measures the number of telephone connections for every hundred individuals in the country has grown from about 0.05 per cent in the year 2000 to 92.42 per cent currently.

E-COMMERCE AND BROADBAND FACTORS There is bound to be increased revenue when we look at the e-commerce activities and the increased broadband penetration. Terragon Group Research, a new media business focused on Africa with strong competence across the new media ecosystem, carries out periodic research on internet usage across multiple platforms. Its release for the second quarter of 2014, revealed tremendous growth in the state of digital media and users’ online behaviour in Nigeria over the past twelve months. The report which was compiled after a recent survey from a pool of online participants across various locations in the country, showed heightened growth in the area of internet usage, social media participation and e-commerce, and the opportunities the trend presents for marketers. The comparative study shows growth patterns from 2013 to 2014, with focus on mobile phone and internet usage, broadband penetration, Mobile Number Portability (MNP) and Mobile money. Interesting to note were the insights presented for e-commerce which showed that there had been a 15 per cent increase in users’ purchases online from results in 2013. As at the end of June 2014, 63 per cent of Nigerian internet users had bought at least one item online. 60 per cent of these buyers claimed to have used

their mobile phones for these purchases. Considered to have influenced this increase in e-commerce activities, is evident in the increase in internet penetration through mobile, increase in data bundle purchases and online activities such as search, social media interaction, downloads and emails, within the period. Eniola Moronfolu, Intelligence Lead, Terragon Group, spoke on the findings stating, “The increase in e-commerce activities is very encouraging for an environment such as ours. It was interesting to note that a huge number of these purchases were mobile driven, and that mobile is the first and major point of access for all internet activities.”

The NCC also in its recent statistics made available to the public indicated that there were 134.5 million active telephone subscriptions in the country as at the end of September, 2014. Of this figure, 65 million are active mobile internet subscriptions on Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks, indicating that there is increasing demand for data-enabled services. BRIDGING THE GAP WITH OPEN ACCESS MODEL IMPROVES THE GAINS

The Nigerian Vision 20:2020 economic transformation blueprint is a long term plan for stimulating Nigeria’s economic growth and launching the country onto a path of sustained and rapid socio-economic development. As part of the mission to achieve global economic competitiveness, there is need for cost effective widespread deployment of robust national and metropolitan optic fibre transmission network. Effective deployment would include ensuring an even playing field where infrastructure sharing takes place. Thus, the Commission has put in place a new broadband deployment environment through an ‘Open Access Model’ in line with the National Broadband Plan. The “Open Access Model” has been examined as the model for optic fibre transmission network deployment to bridge the current gap and deliver fast and reliable broadband services to households and businesses. The model is also envisaged to address the challenges of congested and unplanned towns, the challenges around infrastructure sharing and other issues such as high cost of Right of Way. Additional, the Open Access Model will potentially help optimize the cost of broadband access across Nigeria and ensure that all operators, whether large or small, have equal access to broadband infrastructure. In this regard, the NBN is envisaged to be an open-access carrier-neutral backbone and metropolitan fibre network that spurs service innovation. The NBN framework will provide an open access, non discriminatory and non-exclusive pricing to all service providers. There are strong indications, looking at prevailing indices that the NCC is ready to take the telecoms industry in Nigeria to a world class height in no time.

According to NCC, the objective of the Open Access Model (OAM) is to stimulate a new national broadband network that is not only more widespread but also faster and more secure than what is available today, thereby stimulating other sectors of the economy and Nigeria. www.mobileworldmag.com

MTN and Alcatel-Lucent to boost connectivity in Nigeria with ultrabroadband 100G fiber-optic data network for bandwidth hungry services such as streaming video plus the ever-increasing need from enterprises for storage and data center connections.

Alcatel-Lucent Agile Optical Networking combines WDM, OTN, and GMPLS/ASON control plane intelligence to assure scalable, versatile, reliable and efficient transport at 100G and beyond.Quotes:

The new network also gives MTN the capacity and flexibility to offer wholesale services to other service providers in the region.

Lynda Saint-Nwafor, CTO of MTN

Key Facts: • MTN Nigeria is the biggest mobile operator in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, and West Africa region with Lynda Saint-Nwafor more than 58 million CTO of MTN Nigeria subscribers and also is the largest subsidiary in the MTN lcatel-Lucent is opening Group – a multinational teleup Africa’s most populous communications group offering nation to the benefits of world-class cellular network acultra-broadband conneccess and business solutions to tivity by launching a sumore than 210 million subscribperfast, 100 gigabit-perers in 22 countries across Africa second fiber-optic network with MTN and the Middle East. Nigeria, a subsidiary of Dubai-based

MTN Group and the leading service provider in Africa.

MTN Nigeria, which covers more than almost 90 percent of Nigeria’s land mass, will deploy a 100G network that re-uses existing 10G optical assets thereby preserving MTN past investments while ensuring future proof and state of art solution. Nigeria’s growing economy is fueling a proliferation of mobile subscribers, which number about 275 to every one landline in the country. As a result, Nigeria has a significant need for reliable, mobile broadband access to support growing demand

•

MTN Nigeria’s network covers 88.8 percent of the country’s land mass giving 86.2 percent of the population access to mobile services. Alcatel-Lucent is supporting MTN Nigeria’s rapid growth in mobile subscribers by building a 100G DWDM/OTN network using Alcatel-Lucent’s 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) platform, a family of equipment that has been designed according to the latest international SD-FEC zero touch photonics and coherent technology.

Nigeria said: “MTN realized

we needed to upgrade our network to meet customer expectations for ultrabroadband connectivity and high reliability within Nigeria’s very competitive marketplace. We wanted a state of the art solution that met three main criteria: increased network reliability, a high degree of scalability to prepare the network for 400G and beyond, and preservation of our existing 10G investment. Alcatel-Lucent’s demonstrations showed that they could meet all of our criteria and we look forward to deploying the network overlay in 2014.” Hatim Zougari, Country Senior Officer of Alcatel-Lucent in Nigeria, said: “We knew that MTN’s top priority was to provide reliability to their customers but they also wanted to offer ultra-broadband and they wanted to retain usefulness of as much of their legacy network as possible. We were able to show that we can give them a cost-effective solution that accomplishes all of their goals in a way that no one else could.”

www.mobileworldmag.com

Glo Ghana empowers subs to call Nigeria free on Glo Kappah

lo Mobile Ghana has introduced a new product with exciting tariff plan which will enable telecommunication subscribers in Ghana to make free calls to their friends, family and business associates in Nigeria. Aptly named the Glo Kappah, the product also offers subscribers outstanding credit for voice calls, sms and data usage in Ghana. The new product, which comes in two variants, Mini and Super, gives subscribers unmatched international minutes for calls to Nigeria and is available through a special SIM card. The SIM, which is available in Gloworld shops, prepaid dealers shops and through special activation partners across the country, is priced at GHc 3 for Mini and GHc 6 for Super. For the Mini package, a monthly rental of GHc 3 delivers 300 Glo to Glo voice minutes, 100 sms and 50 MB for data in Ghana, apart from free 15 minutes of call to any Glo number in Nigeria. The total value of the benefits accruable to the subscriber on this variant is GHc 43. That means a subscriber who pays GHc 3 for Mini

gets local calls, sms, data and also international calls to Nigeria to the value of GHc 43. Equally, the Super variant delivers 900 Glo to Glo voice minutes, 300 sms and 150 MB for data in Ghana with 45 minutes of call to any Glo number in Nigeria. The GHc 6 that a subscriber pays on this variant gives huge benefits to the value of GHc 129 in return. Upon purchase and activation of any of these two packages, subscribers are instantly credited with the requisite on-net bundle with a validity period of one month. To subscribe for the package, a customer with sufficient airtime on the line only needs to dial *750*3# for Mini value and *750*6# for Super value. Subscribers can subscribe again after exhausting the package without having to wait till the end of the month.

to make Glo to Glo between 12am to 6am at 5 Gp per minute. Glo Mobile Head of Business, Mr Akeem Kazeem said the product was conceived to serve the growing community of Ghanaians who have businesses, friends and families in Nigeria and Nigerians residents in Ghana.

“With this product, we are sure that Glo Mobile is going to contribute in no small measure in helping people build relationships and grow their businesses with less hassle and at a lower cost ”, he said.

Additionally, subscribers on these two variants of the package will also enjoy calls at 5 Gp to five Family and Friends numbers. On a previous day’s usage of 50 Gp and above, customers are allowed www.mobileworldmag.com

MTN Ghana Launches Eazifon to Support SMEs

eading telecommunications company, MTN Ghana, has launched a new innovative phone - Eazifon, a fixed wireless terminal and an alternative to the traditional landline fixed phone to support the activities of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Eazifon comes with the properties of a fixed phone without the hassle of cabling and infrastructure. The new device, which requires an MTN Sim Card, is available in three variations, namely Easifon Plus with extensions, Easifon Corded and Easifon Cordless., with the option to purchase at a go or pay monthly fees under a post-paid contract. For a fixed monthly fee, the Easifon device offers customers a bundled package with many features which include

free minutes of talk time at a lower tariff; free SMS monthly; and free Closed User Group calls between Easifon existing/new users and contract post-paid lines. Other features are plug-and-play handsets that can easily be disconnected and reconnected upon relocation from one’s home or office; and extra handsets/extensions that can be used in the home or in small offices.

According to Addo, SMEs plays a vital role in the growth of every economy by creating employment and driving income growth, and that Eazifon was bound to transform the way SMEs and individuals conducted their business activities. He said the ultimate goal of MTN was to provide innovative solutions and services to enhance SME business operations, reduce overhead costs and facilitate growth within the sector.

The product was developed by MTN in line with its vision of leading the delivery of a bold new digital world to its clients. Sam Addo, General Manager, MTN Business, said as a leading network operator in Ghana, MTN considered it a duty to develop product offers that were relevant to SMEs and promoted their sustainability.

Sam Addo General Manager for MTN Business

Rwanda Launches its 4G LTE Broadband Network better services across the country.”

According to Nsengimana, the launch of 4G LTE is one of many activities that our Government is putting in place so as to achieve a middle class knowledge based economy targets by 2020.

Jean Philbert Nsengimana Minister for Youth and ICT

wanda’s much anticipated high-speed (4G LTE) broadband network has been finally launched. The service has gone live after it was launched in Kigali.

Jean Philbert Nsengimana, the Minister for Youth and ICT, said “The rollout of 4G LTE will speed up national development goals by speeding up ICT based services as well as creating jobs and proving new opportunities to deliver

He said the Government will continue its support for ICT literacy to make the service impactful on the lives of Rwandans.

Patrick Nyirishema, Director-General of Rwanda Utility Regulatory Agency (RURA), described the launch of this service as an addition to the existing information and communication technology eco-system.

“It is a new addition to the ecosystem, whatever benefits citizens were receiving due to ICT development in the country, will now

increase in terms of speed and efficiency,” he said. “We are increasing accessibility and Internet speed, we are making it easier for people to do business and have impact on fellow citizens.” On affordability, Nyirishema said that as the regulator, they were sure it would be good business and sustainable in the long run. He said the service will not be priced very differently from the 3G service that has been accessible previously. “As a regulator we have an interest in ensuring that all the licensed entities are profitable because it is only then that we can have sustainability of the services they are issuing in the market. By issuing a license it shows that we are content that it is good business,” Nyirishema explained. Under the EDPRS2 program, the government targets to have 95% of citizens with access to fast and secure 4G LTE Internet by 2017.

www.mobileworldmag.com

Vantage Mezzanine Invests $30 million in Ghana’s Surfline Communications

frica’s leading mezzanine debt provider, Vantage Mezzanine, has announced it had concluded a transaction with Surfline Communications to provide $30 million (R330 million) of expansion capital to the company together with a fund co-investor. The funds will be used for the ongoing expansion of Surfline’s 4G LTE network in Ghana as well as to grow its product distribution and marketing network. By deploying the first 4G LTE mobile network in Ghana, Surfline is able to offer high-speed internet connectivity (up to 10 times faster than the average speeds offered by the existing mobile network operators) at rates that are competitive with existing internet service providers. Because the Surfline network does not rely on the limited

fixed line telecommunications infrastructure in Ghana, the company is able to rapidly roll-out its services across its coverage area. Surfline was established to provide wireless broadband and related services to the Ghanaian market, including meeting the emergent and largely unfulfilled data needs of Ghana’s businesses, government agencies, professional and academic communities and residential users. The network achieved a very successful commercial launch in August 2014 and is experiencing tremendous growth in its customer base, in both the consumer and corporate/ enterprise segments. Just two weeks ago, Surfline was shortlisted for the award of “Breakthrough LTE Development” category by the Africa Communications Awards for its successful deployment of Ghana’s first 4G LTE

network. John Taylor, Surfline’s Executive Chairman, has also been listed in the 2014 World Finance 100, which celebrates 100 individuals who have reached the pinnacle of achievement in their field of expertise. John Taylor said, “Vantage provided us with growth capital in a shareholder-friendly structure that we required to expand the business by supplementing the existing financing in place.” Yaw Keteku, Associate Partner at Vantage leading their investment activities in Ghana, said “Under John

Taylor’s visionary leadership, Surfline has assembled a team of highly-skilled professionals and technical partners who have built a first class communication network to meet www.mobileworldmag.com

Ghana’s ever-growing data demand. We have developed a close working relationship with the Surfline team and we look forward to supporting the business as it grows.” “We are delighted to announce that we have made our third investment outside of South Africa. Over the last five years, Vantage has reviewed over 600 investment opportunities and we consider Surfline to be one of the most exciting deals we have seen,” added Luc Albinski, Managing Partner at Vantage. The investment in Surfline follows Vantage’s pan-African strategy of focusing on high-growth African markets such as Ghana, Nigeria, the East African Community members and some of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. Surfline is Vantage’s second investment in Ghana after its $18.5 million (R204 million) commitment to Genser Energy, an independent power producer that is currently commissioning a 30 megawatt power plant, which is expected to come on-line shortly. Mutle Mogase, Vantage’s Chairman, said “Vantage, with the support of its investors, is contributing almost $50 million (R550 million) towards the improvement of infrastructure in Ghana by supporting the rollout of a broadband network and new power generation projects. The developmental multiplier effect of increased power generation capacity and high-speed internet will drive further economic growth in the country.” Surfline is the eleventh mezzanine transaction in Vantage’s second fund, of which more than 80% of available funds have been invested. More than half of the capital deployed has gone into growth projects such as Surfline. Vantage has commenced the raising of its third mezzanine fund, which is targeted to close by the first quarter of 2015 at $250 million (R2.75 billion). Oxford & Beaumont Solicitors served as legal counsel to Vantage on this transaction.

Firefox OS Ecosystem To Expand To Africa With Support From New Partners

ozilla, the mission-based organisation dedicated to promoting openness, innovation and opportunity on the Web, is pleased to announce that Firefox OS will soon expand to Africa. The Firefox OS ecosystem has gained support from three new key partners in the region: Airtel, MTN South Africa and Tigo, operated by Millicom, are the first carriers working with Mozilla to soon bring first Firefox OS smartphones to Africa. “We are proud to see that with Airtel, MTN South Africa and Tigo, Firefox OS gains additional support to soon extend the Firefox OS footstep into

Africa”, says Rick Fant, Mozilla’s VP Planning and Ecosystem. “The continued growth of Firefox OS holds great promise for enabling millions more people to access the mobile Web at an affordable cost, while helping to remove control points in today’s closed mobile ecosystems.” Firefox OS is the first device platform built entirely to open Web standards, with every feature developed as an HTML5 application. Its flexibility, scalability and powerful customisation empowers users, developers and industry partners to create customised mobile experiences.

www.mobileworldmag.com

Mobile Payment Transactions in Sub Sahara Africa Lagging Behind By Carol Opata

n about a decade, financial transactions made via internet on mobile phones which has been termed Mobile Money has been embraced by majority, and has become a priority for financial institutions, mobile operators,and technology firms. Africa is said to have the highest rate of mobile penetration on the globe today and two-thirds of adults in sub-Saharan Africa currently use mobile phones. However, financial transactions via mobile phones in sub-Saharan Africa still lag behind. One would have thought that the huge penetration of mobile phones in the region will greatly influence mobile money transactions. GSMA, the mobile industry lobby group reveals that 2.5 billion people in developing countries lack access to banking services, yet one billion of them have a phone that would allow them to use the mobile money service. This is not to say that the continent has not recorded massive growth in this sector since it came into use. At the end of 2013, there were more mobile money accounts than bank accounts in nine developing countries mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, according to GSMA; with Kenya leading the region with its tremendous success story of mobile money.

Success Stories About 61 million active mobile money customers are using the service globally, up from 37 million in 2012. In Kenya, M-Pesa has 13 million active customers. Transactions grew 22 percent and contributed 26.6 billion shillings ($303 million) or nearly a quarter of Safaricom’s revenue in the year to March 2014. French telecom operator Orange, which runs Orange Money, has seen significant growth with about 10 million customers worldwide, most of them in the West African CFA franc zone. Thierry Millet, vice-president for Orange Mobile Payments and Contactless, said the total value of mobile money transactions made on its networks topped 2 billion euros ($2.7 billion) last year and is expected to exceed 4 billion in 2014. In Uganda, MTN launched its own mobile

money in 2008. The service contributes about 15 percent of the total revenue of MTN Uganda and as much as a fifth of the country’s economic transactions are done through MTN mobile money solutions, says an MTN executive. The potentials and opportunities for mobile money therefore is huge, hence the need to fill the unprecedented digital gap. The limited state of financial inclusion on the continent makes it more demanding that stakeholders maximize and exhaust the use of mobile money

For Mawusi, a farmer in his early 50s, who lives in Vakpo, a suburb in Volta Region, has his son sending him money from time to timeand he goes to the nearby MTN office to collect his cash. He complains bitterly of having to walk a long distance to get this money. However he has never paid any bill using his phone, he is not even aware he can make such transactions.

The Wide Gap Despite the amazing figures that characterize mobile money in sub-Sahara Africa only a small percentage of upper-income households enjoy the convenience of card-based, online, and mobile banking and payments, while most consumers still pay with cash. In Ghana for instance, most illiterates and rural dwellers do not know that transactions can be carried out through their phones. Those living in the rural communities who have their relatives send them money from the big cities only know have the privilege of receiving money via their phones. They are not aware that they can even pay their bills via their phones. Ajei Yaw, A fisherman who lives in Birwa, about 15 minutes drive from Cape Coast, has a mobile phone, but has no idea about getting money via his phone.

“I have a phone quite alright, but I have no idea you can get money through your phone, how is that possible? This must be some kind of miracle”, he told MobileWorld with so much amazement at this technology.

“My son sends me money from Accra, he would ask me to go the MTN office to collect my money, in fact the first time he asked me to do that I was very surprised, I asked him if MTN has become a bank” Interesting is the story of Mame Adwoa, a petty trader who resides at Madina, a suburb in Accra, Ghana’s capital. The word mobile money sounded strange to her as she had no idea what it meant. “I don’t know what that means, I only buy credit and put on my phone, but make payments with my phone? That sounds new to me… “ www.mobileworldmag.com

This goes to show the level of mobile money penetration in rural communities and even cities. This technology is mainly associated with the, educated, middle and high income earners. Gallup’s survey of 11 countries in subSaharan Africa found that more than 80 percent of adults make payments or remittances with cash. Currently, an average of 54 percent of adults in sub-Saharan Africa make one or more long-distance payments in a given month, totaling approximately five billion transactions annually. The total volume of these flows is approximately $760 billion, and sadly, 50 to 60 percent of the

would rise from $6.6 billion to $7.7 billion. It goes further to say that if in the situation where business and government entities in sub -Saharan countries pay for wages , goods and services digitally like it is done in Kenya, total revenue for electronic payments in the region would grow by 50 to 60 percent, to between $10 billion and $11 billion annually. This implies, for example, that combined payment revenue in Nigeria would grow from $0.6 billion to $1.3 billion and in South Africa from $1.5 billion to $1.9 billion. If the region’s P2P electronic payments were to grow higher, its electronic-payment revenue would exceed its baseline by about 50 percent, reaching $15 billion to $16 billion. In Nigeria, for example, the analysis estimates that revenues would climb to approximately $1.8 billion a year.

Economic Benefits Time is saved and productivity is increased. One does not have to be in long queues to make DSTV payments for instance. As such time can be used for other productive things. Broad acceptance of mobile money or digital-payment platforms also benefits stakeholders beyond the payment industry.

transactions are in cash. With a conservative estimate of revenues at 2 percent of volume, this results in annual revenues of about $6.6 billion from electronic payments.

Financial Implication A recent study by McKinsey has it that if person to person (P2P) transactions are done through digital payments similar to the culture in Kenya, where 70 percent of all transactions are currently electronic, economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa would increase regionwide by 60 to 70 percent, from $1.6 billion to $2.7 billion. Corresponding digital-payment revenues

Governments also benefits highly from adopting digital payments, as this reduces payment costs and also increases transparency. And the public ultimately benefits, too, when tax revenues grow concurrently with the increased documentation, transparency, and overall economic growth that accompany digital payments. When digital payments take hold, as they did in Kenya, consumers eventually profit from the related savings. The cost of making remittances via M-Pesa is about half that of other formal domestic-remittance services. Moreover, customers can instantly send payments from their mobile phones instead of traveling an hour or more too distant bank branches. Many customers in sub-Saharan Africa need bank services but simply live and work too far from a branch office.

Most importantly, mobile money brings financial services to vast numbers of unbanked and under banked families. They dramatically reduce transaction costs, greatly increase customer convenience, and minimize the need for expensive physical infrastructure, including branch networks.

The Way Forward For mobile money to grow faster, mobile operators and financial institutions must educate the masses on the use and benefits of this technology having the rural dwellers and uneducated as a priority. The service must be kept simple and reliable while educating users on how to use it. Operators also need to develop thousands of sales networks to reach more customers and expand the services on offer to include larger transfers targeting merchants and government payments Regulators must encourage investments while guaranteeing fair competition, and assuring customers that systems are secure and their money is safe. Research has shown that Safaricom was successful with M-Pesa because it had a dominant share of the Kenyan mobile market and operated with little regulation at its launch. In the West Africa franc zone, the central bank introduced regulations as early as 2006 to enable the launch of services, the neighbouring Central Africa franc zone trailed behind.While operators in the West Africa zone can conduct transfers with multiple banks and international partners, this is not the case in the Central Africa region, which groups Cameroon, Congo Republic, Chad, Central African Republic, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Regulators in central Africa must loosen their policies if the whole of sub -Sahara Africa must enjoy robust mobile money transactions. Regulators must also enforce interoperability between rival systems to allow money transfers regardless of the operators.Thankfully, In August 2014, Africa’s first Interoperability agreement was launched between three of Tanzania’s mobile networks, Tigo, Airtel and Zantel. With this customers are able to send money to each other whether using Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money or EzyPesa on their mobile handsets. This must be duplicated in the whole of sub-Sahara Africa.

www.mobileworldmag.com

MoboFree: The Swap is the Edge Kehinde Olesin

here is no doubt that competition in the African social marketplace has deepened, even more recently. MoboFree, the new entrant into Nigerian social marketplace is set to make the space more exciting for millions of prospective users. The new platform will allow people to buy, sell and swap products with other trusted people. To many millions, the swap could be the edge. History Launched more than 2 years ago with head office in Vilnius, Lithuania (Eastern Europe). Achieved 2.5 M registered members without any outside investment. Today it has 3.3 Million registered members total. More than 3000 new registered members are joining MoboFree every day. Top markets include Nigeria, with over 2Million registrations. We also have a strong footprint in Zimbabwe, Uganda and Ghana. Competitive advantages MoboFree has technical solution which works on all devices. It is well adopted not only for PC and smartphones but also for old phones with small screens (so called “feature” phones). More than 60 % of African population access internet only via old phones. So our technical solution makes buying and selling online

available for any African user with any device.

Extremely high attention to safety. Online scam and high level of crimes is serious problem in its target markets. It can be dangerous to go to “blind date” with buyer or seller with money or expensive item in your pocket. Most boards of classifieds provide only poor contact info – phone and sometimes email. Mobo Free approach is different. This is because big part of community members are involved in scam control activities as volunteers.The firm has dedicated technical solution allowing to identify suspicious behavior. Every classified advert goes live only after manual check by customer support officers. It is social and it empowers its social network to make trading more save. Before going to meet buyer or seller – each member can communicate and negotiate online without leaving MoboFree, can check common friends, photos, history, feedback and ratings of other members.

has unique user- centric approach instead of traditional item-centric approach The platform allows its buyers and sellers to get a lot of personal information about each other –starting from photos and common friends and ending with ratings or other data which allows to identify if person is worth to trust. Negotiation and communication during buying/selling process is very important part of African culture. Members conveniently communicate and negotiate without leaving a platform. They can do it via private messages or via chat. Our members send over 8 M private messages per month. MoboFree personalizes project and proposals according to customers’ behaviour and interests. It allows to make buying and selling much more effective.

MoboFree is SOCIAL marketplace and www.mobileworldmag.com

AFRICA; BECOMING A MOBILE CONTINENT Derrick Tagoe

henever the global digital divide is mentioned, Africa pops up and the reason is simple; first because, only a meagre 16% of internet users can be attributed to Africa according to figures released by the International Telecommunications Union for 2013. Secondly, the ICTs infrastructure in Africa lags behind grossly as compared to the rest of the world. In recent years, Africa has done everything ‘digitally’ possible to bridge the global ‘digital divide’ that separates the continent from other countries in the Western Hemisphere where technology has taken deep roots. The continent once labelled the “dark horses” of mobile telephony and internet penetration has changed tremendously in the past years. Researchers have forecasted that the number of consumers who access

internet on their mobile device in Africa will grow rapidly in the next five years, 20 times the rate of the growth in the rest of the world. This prediction means that more and more Africans will have access to the internet on their mobile phones; a welcome development for a continent that currently has only 16% of its population having access to the internet. The sub-Saharan African countries with the most mobile subscriptions are Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ghana, with Kenya having more than half of its consumers accessing the internet on their mobile devices; smartphones, tablets etc. The low cost of mobile devices and the need to connect with friends online means more Africans especially the youth are driving towards a more digital alternative way of living. Thus, affordability and easy connectivity makes mobile devices the first point of call for many internet users in Africa particularly the urban dwellers. Also, the mobile phone has already become an important reference when you talk about e-commerce

in Africa. Consumers in Africa have taken to the use of mobile phones for their internet activities as an alternative to the traditional use of laptops and other PC devices. It is reported that about 25% of internet users in Africa shop online using their mobile devices. Social networking remains the number one activity on the internet for most internet consumers in sub Saharan Africa. Facebook, Twitter and other social networks attract huge traffic from mobile data. The Mckinsey Africa Consumer Center Survey in 2013 revealed that about 57% of 15,000 Africans interviewed across 12 cities spend their time on the internet browsing social networks. Statistics also show that by the end of 2014, there will be more than 635m mobile subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa. This is predicted to rise, to about 930m by late 2019, as three in four mobile subscriptions will be internet inclusive. The growth is attributed to the rise of social media, content-rich apps and video content accessed from a new range of smartwww.mobileworldmag.com

phones costing less than $50 (£30).

“Sub-Saharan Africa is currently undergoing a mobile digital revolution with consumers, networks and even media companies wakening up the possibilities of 3G and 4G technology,” said Fredrik Jejdling, sub-Saharan Africa head of Swedish tech company Ericsson, which published its research recently. “We have seen the trend emerging over a few years but in the past 12 months the digital traffic has increased over 100%, forcing us to revise our existing predictions.” The study by Ericsson also revealed

that 70% of users in the countries it researched access the web on mobile devices, compared with just 6% who use desktop computers. That pinpoints to the fact that, mobile internet usage is experiencing an upward trajectory and looks more likely to continue. Today, Africa has 12% (835 million) of the total mobile subscriptions worldwide, making it the third largest region worldwide, larger than Latin America, North America and India, and the figures are still growing. This number is expected to grow and it will likely have a positive effect on mobile internet usage in Africa according to IPC Datashots. In 2013 alone, mobile phone users in Africa accessed 37,500 TB (Terabytes) of data per month and this figure has doubled to 76,000 TB per month in 2014. In 2015, the figure is expected to double again reaching 147,000 TB

a month. With 3G technology billed to become the dominant technology across the region, we should anticipate more growth in this area. By 2019, it is predicted that 75% of mobile subscriptions in Africa will be internet inclusive (3G or 4G), a feat which will put Sub Saharan at the forefront of becoming a mobile continent. Cisco in its ‘Visual Networking Index Global Forecast and Service Adoption’ for 2013 to 2018 rates Africa as one of the fastest growing markets in terms of internet protocol traffic and will see a 38% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the next five years. Obviously, a once bleak ICT industry has seen a new dawn; one that will herald a seamless way of doing things for most Africans.

IBM Launches Africa’s First Research Lab in Kenya

echnology giant, IBM has opened its first research lab in Africa in Kenya. The facility, which has positioned Kenya as an ICT hub on the continent is situated at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi. It is also IBM’s twelfth research lab in the world and its first commercial lab. The lab will be a centre of creating IT solutions and taking them to market based on research and data on different sectors generated from around Africa. Through the centre, the youth will have the opportunity to learn from the best minds from the world such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. During the official opening of the laboratory at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, President Uhuru Kenyatta stated that the role of Information, Communication and Tech-

nology is a key driver to the countr y ’s targeted economic growth prospective of 10 per cent annually.

“The envisaged ac tivities of the partnership will yield solutions and systems that will address very specific local problems through commercially viable innovations,” the President said. “Through applied and exploratory research, people will be empowered to overcome challenges and improve their lives, while entrepreneurs involved will generate incomes and employment,” he noted.

The 12th IBM lab in the world and the only of its kind in Africa brings together the academia, industry and government. Key areas the lab would focus on include smarter cities, medical healthcare, education, water, agriculture and transport. “These are the areas which government intends to concentrate its resources and transformative strategies,” said Kenyatta.

www.mobileworldmag.com

Gemalto survey in Africa:

80% voice interest for mobile marketing if in line with “right person, right message, right moment” golden rule

emalto, the world leader in digital security, is releasing the results of a new survey conducted by Ifop in South Africa and Nigeria on consumers’ perceptions of mobile marketing. The findings reveal that although 80% of respondents feel annoyed when receiving unsolicited messages, the same proportion could be won back by operators and brands if they implemented best practices to improve customer engagement. The survey clearly highlights that consumers in South Africa and in Nigeria share the same desire to be in control of the mobile marketing campaigns they receive: 83% of respondents consider that mobile marketing should be permissionbased and 90% want to be able to easily identify the sender. They also want messages to be relevant to them and there is room for improvement in this respect as nearly 70% said they received promotional messages not in line with their interests. Consumers also want tangible

benefits: 53% of South Africans expect, in order of preference, immediate discounts, loyalty benefits, and the possibility to collect points and gifts. In conclusion, the survey indicates that there is a clear and strong potential for mobile marketing in Africa, provided mobile operators and marketers implement the golden rules: right person, right message, and right moment. If the end user is given control to opt in, optout and select the frequency; and if messages are relevant and provide value, then 80% of those surveyed in both countries would become “connected ad lovers”. On the South African market, mobile end users can be won back by adopting best practices which are more respectful of their wishes. As for Nigeria, where mobile marketing is still in its infancy, those golden rules can be implemented right from the outset. “In a continent where the mobile phone is the most widespread screen, mobile

marketing has tremendous potential for operators and brands to engage better with their audiences,” said Nadia Gonzalez, Vice President of Mobile Marketing at Gemalto. “Mobile operators have key assets for improving end-users’ experience of mobile marketing. Starting with a respect for consumer privacy, their ability to segment campaigns by end-users’ profiles, location and interests puts them in the driving seat in helping brands apply these golden rules.“

Methodology French research firm Ifop, on behalf of Gemalto, conducted face-to-face interviews with 800 adult (18 years of age and older) owners of a mobile phone in Nigeria and South Africa, to understand consumer perceptions regarding mobile marketing and to identify blockers and drivers for mobile marketing in each region. The survey was fielded in July 2014 and included 400 respondents from South Africa and 400 respondents from Nigeria. www.mobileworldmag.com

Roshi Motman CEO, Tigo Ghana

Tigo: The Network for the Music Lovers

or the past 27 years, mobile operator, Tigo has continually set thebenchmark in the competitive telecoms industry in Ghana. The telcogiant has proven that its innovation and creativity is unparalleled, considering the kind of services it offers to its millions of subscribers. From the launch of its ‘Free Bonto’ promotion which offered subscribers double bonus airtime after recharging with an amount of GH¢ 2 and triple bonus air time after recharging with GH¢ 5 or more, Tigo Ghana is once again blazing the trail with another industry first; Tigo Music.

service live in Ghana, bringing to Ghanaian music lovers a rare experience with their favorite sounds and tunes fromGhana and Africa’s greatest music icons. With this service, Tigo is making available 35 million tracks from musicians across the globe.

The service which targets Tigo Ghana’s youth customer base has seen a massive uptake after it was launched at the well-attended Tigo Music ‘Unplugged’ on October 31st. The President of the Musicians Union of Ghana, Bice Osei Kuffour professed at the launch that this new service will revolutionise the music industry. Just a few weeks after he said this, it seems his words have come true as lots of people especially the youth have activated this service on their devices.

In a continent where music content is currently the second most popular mobile phone feature, Tigo seems to have hit the jackpot with this latest offering.

What makes this move even more appealing to the youth is the fact that, this service with Deezer can be accessible via mobile devices and any other smart device provided one is subscribed to the service on Tigo.

After its partnership with global music streaming service Deezer, the Millicom owned telco has made the

“It’s like Tigo is bringing music to us rather than we going for

it and its just awesome, I can stream music all day with this service,” said Kofi Annor, a student of the University of Ghana.

In addition, the mobile operator also introduced three data bundles to allow customers to access this music experience without interruptions. The telco has provided customersoptions ranging from the Weekend Unlimited Music’ at GHS 4.99 for 500MB; ‘Weekly Unlimited Music’ at GHS 11.99 for 1.5GB and ‘Monthly Unlimited Music’ at GHS59.99 for 9GB. It’s no news that music plays a major role in Ghana’s rich and diverse culture and this innovative service from Tigo Ghana has indicated that the ‘buzzing’ telco knows what to offer Ghanaians. Its only right that this will certainly improve the operator’s subscriber base as it strives to move up in terms of customers. With the current trend and massive endorsement for Tigo Music, it won’t be long before Tigo improves on its figures just in time for the quarterly reportof the National Communications Authority. www.mobileworldmag.com

www.mobileworldmag.com

Konga Launches Engineering Center with Massive Team of Nigerian Engineers

igeria’s largest online mall, Konga.com recently announced the opening of its new engineering center in Yaba, Lagos. The company’s expansion to the new office was necessitated by the growth of Konga’s massive engineering team. Today, Konga.com has one of the most remarkable teams of software engineers in Nigeria comprising over 100 engineers. Most of these engineers are now located in the new Lagos office with a smaller hub opening soon in Cape Town, South Africa. Konga’s team of highly self-motivated and driven tech gurus work on developing the cutting-edge software and applications which Konga.com runs on today. With a keen focus on innovation, some impressive software developed by the tech team range from the actual Konga.com website, to other platforms such as the ‘SellerHQ’ – a trading Platform which allows sellers all around Nigeria to upload pictures of their merchandise, man-

age stores and actively trade on the Konga.com.

Konga.com’s engineering team also created the Konga Shopping App which runs on Android and iOS, Konga’s Konga’s SellerHQ App on Android as well as several Logistics Applications and internal operational tools. The company’s Director of Products and Enterprises-Technology, Mr. Olatokunbo Fagbamigbe expressed his delight with the growth of the engineering team. He remarked that, “Konga hires the finest multidisciplinary engineers in Nigeria to design and develop the core systems for our online customer experience today; ranging from the actual e-retailer site to other back-end systems. Our team is driven by the challenge to engineer world class systems to help Konga be the engine of trade and commerce in Africa”. The company’s CEO and founder, Sim Shagaya commented on the role of technology in firmly establishing e-commerce as a major industry in Nigeria saying, “The growth

potential for e-commerce in Nigeria is astronomical. We recognize that to be successful in this industry, every point in the consumer’s online shopping experience on Konga must be first-rate. From providing ease when placing orders, to the moment the consumer holds the product in his hands, our proprietary technology follows through to ensure that the experience is as satisfying as possible”. The amazing thing about Nigeria is that we have millions of vibrant youth, providing a large pool of great technical talent to choose from for the development of this technology. As a company founded in Nigeria, we believe that we must play our part in developing the country. We firmly believe in building capability and this is one of the reasons we recently launched a peer training programme for our engineers called the Konga Tech University. In addition to this, we will established a knowledge exchange programme with the experts from our South-Africa hub. www.mobileworldmag.com

MTN invites customers to join fight against Ebola epidemic

TN Group today invited its over 219 million customers across Africa and the Middle East to join hands with the company in a 3-month campaign, starting 1 December, to raise funds for a “United Against Ebola” initiative. In response an appeal from the African Union (AU), MTN and other leading companies in Africa committed logistical support and in kind contributions as part of the first wave of pledges at a recent Africa Business Roundtable hosted by the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The companies also agreed to leverage their resources and capacity to help galvanise citizen action around a “United Against Ebola” campaign, and to provide individuals across Africa and globally with an opportunity to contribute. As part of its pledge, MTN has committed US$10 million and is now inviting customers to participate in an SMS campaign to donate a minimum of US$1. MTN is also working with some of Africa’s most celebrated musicians to produce an inspirational song for digital download on its MTN Play store. All proceeds from sales, post publishing rights and subscription payments, will be donated to the AU campaign. MTN has been an integral part of efforts to tackle the spread of Ebola in countries where the company operates, with special emphasis on Guinea-Conakry and Liberia.

“MTN is supporting this campaign to give further impetus to concerted efforts aimed at combating the Ebola epidemic and saving lives. As MTN, we believe the only way to start reversing the devastating effects of the outbreak is to come together to tackle the spread of the disease, and ease the suf-

Sifiso Dabengwa MTN Group President and CEO.

fering it continues to inflict on families and communities,” says Sifiso Dabengwa, MTN Group President and CEO.

In affected countries where MTN operates such as Guinea Conakry and Liberia, MTN is working closely with authorities to curb the spread of the disease. MTN has set up a number of interventions to assist staff, their families and communities. Some of the measures include distributing information about the disease, its transmission and preventative measures. Working with International SOS, MTN has set up a website where staff can access up-todate information on the disease and its management. As part of this partnership, a medical response team has been set up to offer advice and referral to medical care, if required. In Liberia, for example, MTN has implemented a robust business continuity programme to, among other things, keep the network operational. Health measures taken include

enhanced cleaning of office premises, with particular focus on bathrooms and toilets. MTN is also issuing personal protective equipment and clothing to employees who are either field or frontline staff, such as those in stores and service centres. Other measures include the sanitisation of vehicles and establishment of a work from home solution for staff whose jobs permit. MTN has also advanced salaries to employees, so that they can stock up on supplies. MTN has also established an SMS short code to facilitate enhanced internal communication with personnel. MTN Liberia staff also has access to two dedicated medical doctors and medical facilities. And in line with an intervention aimed at helping local communities, MTN has established a crisis call centre with authorities on the ground, as part of a collaborative response with the Liberian government to help minimise the impact of the disease.

www.mobileworldmag.com

Mobile Phone Penetration On the Rise in Rwanda

described as “the new solution to

efficient provision of services” across sectors by various industry experts. With mobile money services, customers can today pay utility bills, insurance, TV subscription besides being able to access their bank accounts using their phones. They can also send and receive money through mobile money agents and automated teller machines.

Paul Kagame President, Rwanda

obile phone penetration in Rwanda has seen a rapid rise which is evident in the number of mobile operators currently having operations in the East African country. The meteoric rise of phone penetration in Rwanda is one of the success stories of Africa especially looking back at its war torn past. Mobile telephone subscribers in the country have continued to show an increasing trend with mobile telephone subscribers increasing from 7,482,354 in August to 7,518,616 in September 2014. With MTN, Tigo and Airtel as the three major operators in mobile telephony, the penetration rate has continued to grow while the fixed telephony sector has remained the less impressive. According to the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (Rura), mobile phone penetration currently sits at 72% representing a 7.3% increase as against 63% in January this year. Two of the three operators all recorded rise in subscribers save one.

This further indicates that more and more Rwandans are turning to the use of mobile devices. For instance, between the months of August and September, MTN Rwanda gained close to 12,000 new subscribers sending its subscriber base to 3,741,923. The regulator’s report also indicated Tigo has about 2,635,547 subscribers with Airtel Rwanda having over 1,090,493 subscribers. These figures show an impressive record for a country whose population stands at 12,337,138 according to indexmundi.com. This rise recorded could only be attained because of Rwanda’s commitment to excel and an unprecedented example of public private partnership. In June last year, the Rwandan government partnered KT Corporation, a South Korean telecoms service provider, to launch a joint venture called olleh Rwanda Networks (oRn), to facilitate the launch of the country’s first 4G LTE services which will cover 95% of the country’s population in the next three years.

Mobile operators in Rwanda have also contributed to the upward increase of mobile phone penetration by introducing new products and conducting promotions over the year. These promotions range from free mobile money transactions, cash prizes for using mobile money and SMS bonanzas. In a recent speech, Jean Baptiste Mutabazi, the Head of Communication and Media Regulation at Rura, noted that promotions by the telcos increased activities in the industry. Mutabazi also remained optimistic that penetration levels would start inching up at a monthly average of one per cent from the current average of 0.7%. With the launch of its first 4G LTE services, mobile phone penetration in Rwanda is billed to further improve and set the country on its way to becoming one of Africa’s power houses in terms of mobile phone penetration.

The use of mobile devices has been www.mobileworldmag.com

Airtel Ghana Launches ‘2X’ Data Offer

irtel Ghana has launched its latest Value Added Service, the Airtel ‘2X’, a new data offer that allows Airtel customers to double their internet and enjoy the best browsing experience.

their preferred offer and get double internet instantly. “Airtel 2X has been launched at a time

market for savvy data customers to get more from what they spend on our network,” commented Director of Data Business at Airtel Ghana, Jean Claude Domilongo Bope. He also indicated that Airtel was taking data provisioning for customers a notch higher by rolling out innovative offers that is set to revolutionize the internet landscape in Ghana.

Airtel, touted as the smartest network for your smartphone, has come up with this offer to enable its customers to experience more of its 3.75G network in their daily lives and business. With a minimum of GHC1 bundle, Airtel customers in Ghana can get two times the amount of internet they bundle. Customers can activate and enjoy double and limitless fun by, recharging with any Airtel scratch card, dialing *141# to get onto the ‘My Airtel My Offer’(MAMO) platform to select their special offer or dialing *125*2#. Customers may also visit www.bundles.airtellive.comto select

Lucy Quist CEO, Airtel Ghana

when internet usage is on a steady increase.This is the best offer on the

added.

“Whether you are a social network enthusiast, a heavy downloader or are constantly surfing the internet, Airtel 2X is for you. We are dedicated to offering amazing value added services that meet the current and future needs of our customers. That’s not all; we also have our innovative service, data roll over, which allows customers to roll over their unused data credit before it expires. Now you have one more reason to choose Airtel internet services,” he

Onyeche Tifase Appointed as First Female CEO of Siemens Nigeria

frican women continue to excel in taking up leadership positions in the business world, Mrs. Onyeche Tifase has been appointed as the new Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Limited Nigeria. Mrs. Tifase with her new appointment sets the record of being the first female chief executive officer of the Nigerian subsidiary of the German multinational company that has had a long impressive history in Nigeria.

Before her recent appointment, Mrs. Tifase has served Siemens in various notable capacities, including her most recent position as the Head of Energy Management MS at Siemens Nigeria. As a result of her hard work and dedication, she has been given the mantle of leadership in November this year as she takes over from the former CEO, Mr. Michael Lakota, who has served the company within the last couple of years.

www.mobileworldmag.com

Innovative products; Leading the Way for Etisalat Nigeria’ 20 million subscribers 9% of the total GDP. Thus an industry that is very vital for the West African country. Etisalat Nigeria, with its six years of operations in Africa’s most populous nation is one of the Operators that have made Nigeria’s telecommunication success story a compelling one.

Matthew Willsher CEO, Etisalat Nigeria

he telecommunications industry in Nigeria is a very competitive one. With major players like MTN, Airtel, GLO and Etisalat all operating in the country, the industry is rife with stiff competition and aggressive marketing strategies to gain monopoly in the sector. With Nigeria being Africa’s most populous nation and the fastest growing economy in the region today, the role and the success story of its telecommunications sector cannot be overlooked. According to the Nigerian Communications Commission, the telecommunications sector in Nigeria contributed about N6.97 trillion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013 representing

In a highly competitive environment, Etisalat Nigeria has not only sailed through hurdles in the industry to hit its 20million subscriber –base mark within six years, the innovative telecom operator has raised the benchmark in Nigeria’s Telecom space with its unrivalled customer service, innovative products and brand loyalty by customers. Amazingly, this time last year, its subscriber base was just about 17 million, implying that Etisalat gained over 3 million subscribers in less than 12 months, representing 18 percent growth in less than one year. This impressive record by far sets the mobile operator to be touted as the fastest growing telecommunications network in the country. A growth that signifies an impeccable milestone for a company competing with established market leaders like MTN, GLO and others.

Indeed, the innovative products and services introduced by the operator contributed to this impressive show in market share. The company introduced a wide variety of innovative and unparalleled products and services such as the first-of-its-kind educational tool in the youth market, Cliqlite; the first loyalty proposition in the Nigerian telecommunication industry, Etisalat GEM and the new state of the art Gold Series and Flagship Experience Centres. Apart from the timely introduction of innovative products and services, the company has a sterling reputation for customer service and is the only telecoms operator in Nigeria that continually exceeds all the quality benchmarks set by the industry regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).The operator’s remarkable feat therefore comes as no surprise Its Chief Executive Officer, Matthew Wilsher attributes this milestone to two factors-the company’s staff dedication and the responsiveness of Nigerians to Etisalat’s innovative products.

“I must emphasize that the remarkable growth we have recorded is a direct result of two factors - the commitment of our staff, who serve as a vital link in the chain which drives our operations, and the loyalty and warmth of our millions of subscribers. We can only respond to them by constantly improving our products and service delivery,” With such impressive results for a relatively young company, it is only right that it continues steadily to become a market leader. www.mobileworldmag.com

Ericsson Mobility Report: Mobile subscriptions in Africa near the billion mark low-cost smartphones in sub-Saharan Africa will lead to a rapid increase of smartphone subscriptions in the region.However, GSM/EDGE-only subscriptions will remain the most common subscription type for the next five years due to the high numbers of lower income consumers using2G-enabled handsets.”

Smartphone penetration: 800 million new subscriptions in 2014 Fredrik Jejdling Regional Head of Ericsson Sub-Saharan Africa

•

By 2020, 90 percent of the world‘s population over 6 years old will have a mobile phone, and smartphone subscriptions are expected to top 6.1 billion

•

Mobile subscriptions in Africa at 880 million in Q3 of 2014 with a 77 percent mobile penetration

•

26 million new subscriptions added in Q3 2014across Africa

•

Mobile video traffic to increase tenfold and constitute 55 percent of all mobile data traffic by 2020

he latest edition of the Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) Mobility Report, a comprehensive update on mobile trends leveraging big data from live networks worldwide, launches today and reveals that proliferation of mobile technology continues at a rapid pace: Africa has topped 880 million in mobile subscriptions for Q3 2014, whilst90 percent of the world’s population over six years old is predicted to have a mobile phone by 2020. Furthermore, by 2020 smartphone subscriptions are forecast to top 6.1 billion.

Smartphone growth continues as 65-70 percent of all phones sold in the third quarter of 2014 were smartphones, compared with 55 percent in the same quarter for 2013. Despite this increased rate of sales, which will see the addition of an estimated 800 million new smartphone subscriptions by the end of 2014, the report finds there is still plenty of room for growth in the sector. Smartphones currently account for just 37 percent of all mobile phone subscriptions, meaning that many users have yet to make the switch to the more feature-rich, internet-friendly option. The report predicts a strong uptake in the coming years as the number rises from 2.7 billion smartphone subscriptions today to the forecasted6.1 billion in 2020.

Video: largest and fastest growing segment of mobile data traffic Video continues to dominate mobile networks: in 4G-dominatednetworks it currently constitutes 45-55 percent of mobile traffic, driven largely by increased usage of video streaming and improvements in the mobile video experience.

Ericsson also predicts that 85 percent of Middle East and Africa mobile subscriptions will be 3G/4G by 2020.

Video is increasingly appearing as part of other online applications such as news and adverts, and on social media platforms. At the same time, growth in video streaming is being driven by access to over-the-top (OTT) services and content, such as those provided by YouTube.

Fredrik Jejdling, President & Regional Head of Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa says: “The increased availability of

Devices used to watch video are also evolving. Many have larger screens, enabling higher picture quality for

streamed video, which results in video being consumed on all types of devices and in higher quantities, both at home and on the move. In terms of future outlook, Ericsson estimates that mobile video traffic will increase tenfold by 2020, ultimately constituting around 55 percent of all mobile data traffic in 2020.

5G: subscriptions on the horizon 5G is expected to be commercially deployed in 2020, and the technology is predicted to have a faster uptake than 4G LTE, just as 4G had a faster uptake than 3G. The difference here is that, in addition to new radio technologies, 5G will also encompass evolved versions of existing radio access (such as 3G and 4G), cloud, and core technologies to cater for the thousands of new ways that mobile technology will be used. 5G growth will be driven to a large extent by new use cases, especially in machine-type communications. This is the seventh issue of the Ericsson Mobility Report, which shares forecast data, analysis and insight into traffic, subscriptions, and consumer behavior to provide insight into current traffic and market trends. Ericsson regularly performs traffic measurements in over 100 live networks in all major regions of the world. Detailed measurements are made in a selected number of commercial WCDMA/ HSPAand LTE networks with the purpose of discovering different traffic patterns. The forecast period for the latest report has been updated to cover the period from 2014-2020.

Tool for custom data To accompany the Ericsson Mobility Report, Ericsson has created the Traffic Exploration Tool for creating customized graphs and tables using data from the report. The information can be filtered by region, subscription, technology, traffic, and device type.

www.mobileworldmag.com

MTN Ghana Debuts First Data Flagship Store

hana’s leading Telecom Operator MTN, has launched and opened its first data flagship store in Osu to create an opportunity to connect with cus-

tomers. The Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Serame Taukobong disclosed that the shop aims at offering experiential data service to customers. High-end data enabled handset, phone accessories, laptops as well as other internet devices such as modems and routers will be offered at the new data store. According to Taukobong, customers will be able to experience a world that extends far beyond the initial offering of voice and enable them to truly experience the benefits of digitization.

Serame Taukobong CEO, M TN Ghana

He added that “MTN

stands at the doorway of innovation in Ghana. This shop is the first in the industry and is another proof of MTN’s market leadership in the delivery of a new digital world to our customers”.

www.mobileworldmag.com

ICT is a Tool for Gender Inequality in Developing Countries

CT is a great tool for Gender inequality in most developing nations says Dr. Omobola Johnson, Nigeria’s Minister of Communication Technology. She said this at the GEM- TECH Awards 2014, where she received an award on behalf of Nigeria for initiating policies and programmes empowering women and girls through ICT. She explained that currently, there are 200 million fewer women online than men, and this yawning gap could grow to 350 million in three years, the Nigerian Minister said highlighting that globally women are coming online later and more slowly than men. Out of the world’s 2.8 billion Internet users, only 1.3 billion are women. “The disparity in adoption of ICT by women and girls globally reveal a big gulf between men and women in the adoption of ICTs that needs to be bridged, Dr Johnson told the top-level technology meet in South Korea.” She added. “ICT is a useful tool for bridging the

digital divide and plays a crucial role in the socioeconomic empowerment and development of communities and nations across the globe. It is the bedrock of development and the leveraging of this critical tool not only helps to create wealth and jobs, but it also enables inclusive development at all levelshealth, agriculture, education, development, trade”, she expatiated while giving her speach. The minister noted that women account for fewer than 20% of ICT specialists in developing economies and it is estimated that by 2015, 90% of formal employment across all sectors will require ICT skills. Additionally, 21% of women are less likely than their male counterparts to own a mobile phone representing a mobile gender gap of 300 million. In Africa, only about half of the female population makeup the number of men connected to the Internet. The Award by the International Telecommunications Union ITU and UN Women in the 7th category for Nigeria was amongst the 360 nominations received from over 74 countries across the globe featured in the maiden edition of the joint ITU and UN Women awards. The Federal Ministry of Communication Technology was amongst 37 finalists selected from 360 nominations from 74 countries and went on

to win the award in the 7th of “ICT and Broadband strategies, policies and frameworks that promote women’s digital empowerment.” Dr Johnson described the award as an important recognition and validation of the efforts of President Goodluck Jonatahn’s administration on gender inclusion and empowerment facilitated by ICTs. She said that with the underrepresentation of women and girls in ICT, especially in emerging economies like Nigeria and the growing importance of ICTs for national socioeconomic development, closing the digital divide has now become a development priority for Nigeria.

“We are committed to getting more women and girls into ICTs. We want to ensure that Nigerian women and girls are encouraged and empowered to embrace ICTs”, she adds. The Ministry under the window of the Growing Women and Girls in Nigeria (GWIN) initiative of President Goodluck Jonathan came up with three ICT intervention initiatives geared at empowering Nigerian women and girls to reduce the gender divide in the country. The gender based budgeting initiative aims to drive the economic and social inclusion of women in Nigeria. GWIN is being implemented through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministries of Finance, Communication Technology, Agriculture, Water Resources, Health, Works and Women Affairs. The Ministry of Communication Technology has three flagship initiatives under the GWIN programme The Digital Girls Club, Huawei 1000 ICT Girls Training Programme and the Smart woman Nigeria project.

www.mobileworldmag.com

Etisalat Egypt & Ericsson Celebrates Completion of Internet Bundling Project stay informed about costs, balances

says: “Providing our subscribers

ricsson and Etisalat Egypt celebrate the completion of their project providing Etisalat subscribers with more flexible on-demand data subscriptions to mobile broadband and ADSL services.

and bonuses in real-time. These capabilities, considered crucial to subscribers today, will ensure that subscribers are aware of what they are paying for, what they get in return and exactly how much each service costs.

Subscribers can request and update account information and stay informed about costs, balances and bonuses in real-time.

This new solution will allow Etisalat Egypt’s customers who subscribe to both ADSL and mobile broadband to merge the subscriptions into one bundle. Therefore, users will be able to access the internet from different devices such as their tablet, laptop or mobile device, with the same subscription fee.

Rafiah Ibrahim, President of Ericsson Region Middle East, says: “With today’s growing internet subscribers’ demands, end users are expecting to have full control on their internet usage via their different devices anywhere and anytime. Ericsson’s solution enables operators to do so offering their subscribers an enhanced subscriber experience. This latest collaboration between Etisalat Egypt and Ericsson is a testament to our successful partnerships, and I hope that Etisalat continues to place its trust in our solutions and services in the future.”

As part of their ongoing efforts to provide better services to mobile broadband and ADSL subscribers, Etisalat Egypt and Ericsson replaced the operator’s previous Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF) with the Ericsson Service-Aware Policy Controller (SAPC). Etisalat Egypt will use Ericsson’s Integrated Policy and Charging (EIPC) solution to enhance the services the operator is able to offer to both mobile broadband and ADSL internet subscribers. The EIPC solution will now enable subscribers to request and update account information and

In addition to software solutions, Ericsson provided professional systems integration services to meet Etisalat Egypt’s requirements. These services included supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the new PCRF (Ericsson SAPC), swapping out the existing PCRF, and integration with the charging system. Khalid AlMansouri, Chief Information Technology Officer at Etisalat Egypt

with the most advanced services is essential for Etisalat Egypt to achieve its long-term vision for both our business and the industry in Egypt. We are pleased to be working with Ericsson once again and through strategic collaboration we have been able to provide enhanced services and packages to best serve our subscribers.”

Ericsson has a long-standing presence in Egypt, beginning in 1897 when the company was tasked with establishing the first telephone exchange system in the country. The leading provider of communications technology and services continues to work with partners and customers in the country in an effort to further develop the local ICT industry and transition to a truly Networked Society. The celebration took place at Ericsson OSS/BSS Summit in New York and it was attended by top senior executives from both companies. www.mobileworldmag.com

www.mobileworldmag.com

Tigo invest US$3.2 million in overhead fibre-optic cable project

s part of efforts to boost customer and user experience in the Western and Ashanti regions, mobile network operator, Tigo Ghana limited, has started work on a US$3.2 million overhead fibre-optic cable project. It is expected to end indiscriminate fibre cuts by illegal miners, road contractors and property developers which is affecting Tigo’s network quality and user experience particularly in both regions.

“On the average we record about 51 cable cuts every month between the Ashanti and Western regions and this is mainly due to the operations of illegal mine workers and on-

going road expansion projects in both regions.

“Apart from spending millions annually to replace these cables, the impact on customer and user experience is damaging to say the least,” said Obafemi Banigbe, Chief Operations Officer for Tigo Ghana. He explained: “Putting the cables on overhead concrete poles would stop people from digging them out in the ground and this will boost network quality, improve Customer and user experience and also increase Tigo’s coverage footprints in both the Ashanti and Western regions. Both consumers and businesses will get value for money and see a massive improvement in service delivery”, he added. The project is in 3 phases and will cover a 360 kilometre stretch from Dunkwa through to Kumasi. It in-

Obafemi Banigbe Chief Operations Officer, Tigo Ghana.

volves putting up some 4, 600 concrete poles and will be completed by February 2015.

Smile Communications Set to Cover 60 cities in Nigeria by 2015

mile Communications has announced plans to cover 60 cities and 9 additional states in Nigeria by the end of 2015. The announcement was made by the company’s Chief Marketing Officer Alero Ladipo. She said the company began its operations in Oyo State in 2013, and has extended its services to Lagos, Rivers States and Abuja. The company said it will be launching its services in Benin City, Abeokuta, Enugu, Owerri, Kaduna, Kano and Jos in 2015.

“Providing good customer experience is key to our business growth, and that has been the focus of Smile Communication in every community that we rollout our services. We strive to provide the best of customer experience, by providing the right kind of service at the right time.

“For example, we have a product known as My Smile Portal, which gives the customer full control over their own data usage. That experience alone is highly cherished by Nigerians who had long been waiting for a time where they will have

control over their data usage,” Ladipo said.

Alero Ladipo, Chief Marketing Officer Smile Communications

www.mobileworldmag.com

IHS Raises $2.6 Billion in Equity

can reduce building and maintenance costs by hosting multiple tenants -- mobile operators and Internet providers -- on the same towers. In September, South Africa’s MTN agreed to sell 9,151 mobile towers in Nigeria to a new joint venture with IHS in a deal MTN said would cut its costs and boost its call and data capacity in Africa’s most populous country. That was MTN’s fifth tie-up with IHS following deals in Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Rwanda and Zambia. IHS in August agreed to buy and lease back 2,136 towers from Etisalat Nigeria, a unit of Abu Dhabi’s Etisalat. Darwish said a “substantial part” of the money IHS has raised would go towards paying for its recent acquisitions, with the remainder spent on boosting its infrastructure in the five countries it operates in.

Mr.-Issam-Darwish CEO, IHS

N decade.

igerian phone tower group IHS has raised $2 billion in equity and $600 million in debt in what it says is the biggest equity fund raising by an African company this

IHS, the continent’s largest tower company, will use the money to finance infrastructure spending and recently agreed acquisitions, according to a company statement. The loan facility is split into two parts: a seven-year tranche of $500 million denominated in U.S. dollars and an eight-year tranche of $100 million in Nigerian naira. According to IHS chief executive Issam Darwish , Ecobank, Standard Chartered, Standard Bank, Investec and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) participated in the loan.

“This is the largest equity raising by a private entity for the past 7-8 years in Africa -- you’ve had mining, banks and now telecom infrastructure as a standalone sector is commanding this much interest from the international markets,”

He said IHS would complete the two acquisitions soon, with one set to be concluded soon. Darwish predicted demand for broadband would drive growth in Africa’s telecoms sector.

said Darwish.

“The size of the middle class in Africa is now roughly one-third (of the population) -– 15-20 years ago it was 10 percent or less,” said Darwish. “Broadband penetration is extremely low, less than 10 percent, so the potential is massive and you need towers to service that.”

“This sends the right signal, it’s saying the international investor community believes in Africa and they’re putting a substantial amount of money behind that.”

He predicted Africa could need 200,000-300,000 mobile towers over the next 10 years to meet future broadband demand, including up to 40,000 in Nigeria alone.

Building and maintaining mobile communications towers in Africa is typically more expensive than in other regions because of security costs and electricity shortages, while revenue per user is often lower.

IHS may raise further debt before the end of 2015. “Things keep growing and evolving for us so we may come back to the market very soon,” added Darwish.

That has prompted many mobile operators to sell or lease towers to specialist companies such as IHS, which www.mobileworldmag.com