Wired 🔌 for Change: The Growth and Impact of Telecommunication in Africa 🌍

The Journey 🏞 So Far and Ahead

May 13, 2023

Hello Innovators

It's a beautiful Saturday again in the Consonance community and we are ready💃💥🎉

In our Midweek Check-in, we said we would discuss the telecommunication companies in Africa, so we’ll jump right into it.

For the hundredth time, our Midweek Check-in readers are always one step ahead of the curve, so why not join the loop? They get the spoilers, and the events, and in the nearest future would probably be the first to unlock new features and go home with awesome giveaway prices. Anyhoo, we encouraged our readers to Connect with us on LinkedIn

In between, we also did a quiz, and here are the answers to the questions we asked based on the last newsletter.

If Maxokada is coined from the word Okada, then SafeBoda is coined from_______ (Boda Boda)
Okada is to Nigeria as SafeBoda is to ________ (Uganda)

As per our newsletter structure and protocol 🙄 blah blah blah… It is now time for some Tech Twitter memes we are sure you’ll find funny (Hey! We know what cracks innovators up).

Take two…

😅😅 Don’t gerrit?

Try this

Now, to the issue of the day…

Notice!! ⚠⚠

“Innovators in the telecommunication space are advised to come closer as this newsletter contains special notes to Innovators)”

MTN

MTN- Mobile Telephony Network was founded in 1994 as M-Cell with assistance from the South African government.

MTN, true to their motto has really gone on to be “Everywhere You Go” over the years. According to some millennials, the South African-founded telecommunication company is a force to be reckoned with, as it’s one of the only real networks out there.

Surprisingly, some Gen Z’s agree that MTN is really an OG and of course, they do not know a world without MTN. MTN is synonymous with history in many ways for South Africans and other African countries by extension. For Instance, on May 16, 2001, the first mobile call from the MTN network in Nigeria was made making it also the first GSM call in the country. (As an innovator, you have the power to be a pioneer and a changemaker)

Anyhoo, let’s take a look at how MTN really does it.

MTN has recorded massive growth in infrastructure because of its effective networking prowess, hence 20 million Nigerians live in areas where MTN is
the sole provider of communication. (An Innovator should take networking seriously and one way to do so is by joining a community of innovators ✍🏽✍🏽)

There was this huge dependency on MTN since they surprisingly had a wide coverage, starting from the major cities to the rural ones. This was until subsequent years when users figured that their options were increasing.

MTN is mostly at the forefront of different humanitarian projects that better the lives of the citizen, be it rural development projects or entertainment. Millennials and Gen Zs would remember the reign of “Project Fame” during our figurative years as a late-night show which was proudly sponsored by MTN. (It’s okay to have fun as an innovator! Have a fun money 🤑 budget!)

They provide communication services and also actively touch lives. MTN has over 47 active projects ranging from health to sports, education, and many more. (An Innovator can and should take on other life-enhancing projects after considerable achievements ✍🏽✍🏽)

The company has over 1,800 workforces across the country with 99 percent of them being Nigerians, so it is safe to say that its expansion is profitable by all means to users and the nation at large. (An Innovator should look to utilize the labor market by creating job opportunities)

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Safaricom

Safaricom PLC is a Kenyan-listed Mobile Network Operator headquartered in Nairobi Kenya.

Connecting people has always been the goal of Safaricom and they are the leading telecommunications company in East Africa. When you hear Safaricom, M-PESA also comes to mind and we’ll get to that in a minute.

The latest news from Safaricom seems to be majorly about lawsuits, license approvals, and acquisition, but now we know that it is all a means to an end (the end being innovation). They provide connectivity through a wide range of technology which includes 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G in aggregate covering over 99% of Kenya’s population.

According to Safaricom itself, M-PESA is the world’s largest mobile payment system and Africa’s largest Fintech. It is also the world’s first mobile money transfer system. (An innovator can and should diversify for the purpose of the improvement and ease of his ideas ✍🏽✍🏽)

More recently in the news, Safaricom Ethiopia secured a mobile money license from the National Bank of Ethiopia (You can read more on this in our “Notable Reads for The Week” section).

Safaricom says that its subsidiary, Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia, plans to deploy a world-class network and services in 2022, to contribute to Ethiopia’s digital transformation. This is Safaricom gaining ground in new territories, and out of its comfort zone. (An Innovator should not be scared to expand into new places)

Safaricom is also committed to gender representation on all levels and has a target to achieve 50:50 senior management gender parity by 2025. (Innovation has the power to influence change in society)

GLO

Globacom Limited, commonly known as Glo (Global Communication), is a Nigerian multinational telecommunication company founded on the 29th of August 2003.

GLO is one of those companies popularly used in conversations such as “The Pride of Nigeria”. It is a Nigerian Telecommunication company founded by Mike Adenuga which was way ahead of its peers at the time, you could call it one of the Pioneers in Nigeria. It is Nigeria's second-largest telecom operator next to MTN and also has a presence in Ghana and Benin. (Innovators should aspire to be the best in their respective sectors 📝📝)

Mike Adenuga, a one-time petty trader really built an indigenous network provider and something for Nigerians to be proud of. In the beginning, MTN and Econet Wireless (Now Airtel) owned by South African and Zimbabwean businessmen respectively already had their hold in the Nigerian market before GLO made an entrance in 2003. (An Innovator should never be intimidated by the existence of similar products in the marketplace)

Glo came as a shining light in the dark - but not before people were ripped and owning a SIM card was a luxury. A SIM card cost as much as N40,000 while calls were charged at N50 per minute irrespective of the number of seconds the call lasted. Nigerians were at the mercy of the operators and not even the government could come to the rescue of its people. The drop-off rates of calls were equally high. (As an innovator, you have the power to curb injustice and unfair practices with your innovation 💡)

Glo says “Data is life” very often in its ads and campaigns. The question of whether it is a selling point for them or if it is this really true has risen over the years🤔. It’s fair to say that Data is life, because it really is, and most activities that take place on the mobile phone are data-powered.

Yes! It is also a way to get you to buy data from them 😂, but it’s called marketing.

Glo is on a journey similar to other African network service providers with aspirations to build Africa’s biggest and best telecommunications network with millions of subscribers. They are successfully doing this in Nigeria and Ghana.

Here are a few groundbreaking achievements from a reputable source (aka GLO Itself);

GLO made history as the first single company to build a high-capacity submarine fiber-optic cable, popularly known as Glo-1, the first successful submarine cable from the United Kingdom to Nigeria; with the attendant high increases in internet speeds and download rates with resultant significant improvements in online technologies. (As an innovator, you should look for new ways to be better at what you do; because there’s always a next level)

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