News
Ericsson Gears Up Africa Operations with New Network Operations in Nigeria
To better serve both operators and end users across the continent, Ericsson is building a new network operations center in Lagos, Nigeria, and expanding the capabilities of its existing facility in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
The capabilities provided by the network operations centers will include engineering, operations and customer experience management.
Ultimately, the facilities in Nigeria and Ivory Coast will help Ericsson’s customers in Africa make the transition from managing network performance to managing the quality of end-user services such as voice, web browsing and video streaming.
Lagos and Abidjan were selected as the sites for the network operations centers due to the availability of talent, infrastructure and connectivity, and will act as hubs used to manage networks across the rest of Africa.
Speaking on the Company’s decision to cite the Centre in Nigeria, Fredrik Jejdling, head of Region Sub-Saharan Africa at Ericsson, said “As the country in Africa with both the largest population and the largest economy, Nigeria was the logical choice as the host country for our newest network operations center. Together with the expanded facility in Ivory Coast, this center will allow us to continue a proud tradition of more than 100 years working with our customers in Africa.”
Expected to be operational by Q3 2015, the network operations centers will help operators keep pace with rapid socio-economic and technological changes in Sub-Saharan Africa – a region that had 635 million subscriptions in 2014 and is expected to have 930 million subscriptions by the end of 2019.
Ericsson is the global leader in telecommunications managed services, managing networks for multiple operators worldwide via a combination of global and local network operations centers.
Ericsson employs 66,000 services professionals in 180 countries, and provides managed services for networks that serve more than 1 billion subscribers.
Ericsson is notably worldwide as the driving force behind the Networked Society.
It is a world leader in communications technology and services.
Ericsson’s long-term relationships with every major telecom operator in the world allow people, business and society to fulfill their potential and create a more sustainable future.
The services, software and infrastructure – especially in mobility, broadband and the cloud – are enabling the telecom industry and other sectors to do better business, increase efficiency, improve the user experience and capture new opportunities.
With approximately 115,000 professionals and customers in 180 countries, we combine global scale with technology and services leadership.
Ericsson supports networks that connect more than 2.5 billion subscribers.
Forty percent of the world’s mobile traffic is carried over Ericsson networks.
And its investments in research and development ensure the solutions – and the customers – stay in front.
EFCC
The African Development Bank Group last week approved an investment of €6.5 million in the Saviu II fund in order to support technology start-ups through their seed phase and first institutional fundraising, mainly in French-speaking Central and West Africa.
The Bank will invest €4.5 million as equity and €2 million as a first-loss hedging tranche on behalf of the European Commission, under the Boost Africa Programme.
This participation of the Bank Group will enable the Saviu II fund to give priority to companies with a strong technological or digital component.
Saviu II, the second investment vehicle of Saviu Partners, plans to invest between €500,000 and €3 million in about 20 technology or technology-oriented business-to-business start-ups in the seed phase or carrying out first institutional fundraising.
The Saviu II venture capital fund aims to make at least 60% of its commitments in the French-speaking countries of West and Central Africa: Côte d ‘Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso and Mali.
The fund can also co-invest in promising technology companies in East Africa that have a strong team and business model, and whose strategy includes entering the market in French-speaking West African countries and establishing a strong presence there.
In addition, the fund will devote a dedicated envelope to pre-seed investments, focusing on minority equity investments, usually in co-investment with studios, incubators or other ecosystem partners.
Nigerian Government has signed a $1.3 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) via the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) to fund an alumina refinery, national geoscience mapping, and a strategic investment vehicle for mining growth.
Special Assistant to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, said the refinery will process one million tonnes of bauxite yearly using a modern Bayer process, powered by an on-site gas-fired cogeneration plant.
Minister Dele Alake called it a transformative milestone boosting GDP, aligning with reforms that improve investment climate, regulations, and licensing to attract private capital. He directed agencies to fast-track permits.
The 20-year project at 95% utilization eyes 19 million tonnes total output, $1.2 billion annual GDP addition, $25 billion economic impact, and $8 billion forex earnings, per feasibility studies.
SMDF Executive Secretary Fatima Shinkafi termed it the agency’s biggest funding deal, supporting value-addition policy.
The partnership extends to geoscience mapping for mineral data, de-risking exploration, and a joint vehicle for mining assets.
Permanent Secretary Engr. Farouk Yabo praised the reforms. Shinkafi signed for government; AFC’s Franklin Edochie for the corporation, witnessed by AFC CEO Samaila Zubairu.
Tomori positioned it as Nigeria’s largest private mining investment and FDI magnet.
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