News
African Telecoms Growth to Persist, Says Ernst & Young
Ernst and Young reports that telecommunications has transformed Africa to the fastest growing mobile market in the world, and even with the current economic downturn, it is expected that the region will continue to develop faster than any other over the next three to five years.
This is one of the key findings of Africa connected: A telecommunications growth story, Ernst & Young’s first telecommunications study focused on the African continent, based on interviews with global and regional operators across the continent.
“Even with great disparities between African countries, overall penetration rates remain low and there is significant room for expansion,” said Vincent de La Bachelerie, Global Telecommunications leader for Ernst & Young. “Those countries that have established independent regulators and switched to unified licenses are likely to find themselves at the forefront of African telecommunications.”
Past growth has been driven by increasing numbers of subscribers, all using basic voice services. Future expansion is expected through the variety of services on offer.
“The construction of new submarine cable systems is likely to have a fundamental impact on African telecommunications,” said Julia Lamberth, co-leader of Ernst & Young’s Global Telecommunications Center – Africa (GTC – Africa), at a press conference last week. “The availability of more reasonably priced bandwidth could open up the market for cheaper connectivity across the continent and create a platform for a new era in African communications.”
Serge Thiemele, Francophone lead for the GTC – Africa, adds that while opportunities for operators on the continent are expanding, the market is expected to see substantial consolidation in the next few years.
“Large regional and multi-national operators are actively pursuing acquisitions across the continent to consolidate their positions in African telecommunications,” he says. “Operators that have African experience should have a decided advantage over new entrants. Complexities in dealing with multiple regulatory environments and rolling out and maintaining infrastructure in challenging environments is not something that can be learned overnight.”
The firm says that despite a commitment by the telecoms industry to the African continent, there remain significant challenges to overcome. Operators interviewed in the study highlighted regulatory and political uncertainty, rising levels of competition and a lack of reliable infrastructure as their main external challenges.
The study found that profitability and return on investment are favourable indicators for many African operators; that affordability is a key issue, with the cost of telecommunications in Africa remaining amongst the highest in the world, opening the door for low cost operators in the future; that the East African region is seeing increased focus as a significant growth area, having lagged behind the rest of the continent in terms of mobile penetration, but that a more responsive political environment could unlock additional growth.
It also established that finding and retaining key skills remains a key challenge for operators; and that large (mainly single country) operators, such as Globacom and Safaricom, have the potential to challenge the established regional operators, having the opportunity to expand regionally through acquisition or competing for new licenses by leveraging their considerable existing operations.
Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.
Participants at the event
Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,
This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.
While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.
Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.
It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.
Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.
Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.
While 85 per cent of Nigeria is in darkness, Tanzania, an African country has shut down five hydroelectric stations in a bid to reduce excess electricity in the national grid.
Kassim Majaliwa, prime minister, Tanzania, has said the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, alone generated enough electricity to power major cities, including Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub.
It is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed hydroelectric stations due to excess production.
“We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official from state-run power company, Tanesco, said.
The 2,115MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam is said to be almost filled with water following heavy rains that started early this year.
Meanwhile, while the country has an installed capacity of 1,938MW and the grid installed capacity of 1,899MW, Nigeria which has an installed capacity of 13,000MW is struggling to electrify 85 per cent of its electricity consumers.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Jim Ovia, renowned banker and businessman, as the Chairman, Board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Jim Ovia
Ovia’s appointment is contained in a State House statement titled, ‘President Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as Chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund,’ and issued on Friday by Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the President, Media & Publicity.
The statement noted that “Ovia is the founder of one of Nigeria’s leading banks and a respected business leader, with a surfeit of efforts and benefaction towards nurturing and empowering young Nigerians.
“He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana.”
The National Student Loan Programme is a pivotal intervention that seeks to guarantee sustainable higher education and functional skill development for all Nigerian students and youths.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the implementing institution of this innovation, demands excellence and Nigerians of the finest professional ilk to guide and manage.
“The President believes Mr. Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to this role to advance the all-important vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds,” the statement partly read.
Ovia’s appointment will also ensure “that Nigerian youths, irrespective of who they are, have access to higher education and skills that will make them productive members of society and core contributors to the knowledge-based global economy of this century.”
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