14 Mar 2011

West Africa region sees Africa's major operators compete for growth opportunities

As for most of African telecommunications market, the West Africa region seems to be entering a new phase of its growth. Until recently it was characterised by low ARPU, low penetration, and countries with a high number of operators for a relatively small population. However, since the arrival of new international connections (new submarine cables and satellite links) and some dynamic initiatives from ECOWAS's main regulators, the region has now become a ground for Africa's major operator groups to compete.
Among the region's international strategic investors are France’s Orange, South Africa’s MTN, India’s Airtel, Etisalat (owners of Atlantique Telecom)and Expresso Telecom of the UAE, who all have significant footprints in the region. All these commpanies have expressed their interest in growing their presence in the region and increase their positions within their existing markets, where data and other value-added services such as mobile money offer considerable growth opportunities.
Thses groups will all be present at West & Central Africa Com, the region's annual event which will take place in Dakar, Senegal on 15th and 16th June. They will be represented by senior executives with a wealth of experience in those promising markets: Bernard Ghillebaert (Head of West Africa & Asia, Orange Group), Tiemoko Coulibaly (CEO, Francophone Africa Region, Airtel Africa), Ahmad Farroukh (Acting VP for the WECA region, MTN Group), Juan Jose De La Torre Chamy (Group Strategy & Planning Director,Etisalat Group), and Saiful Alam (CCO, Expresso Telecoms Group)
and more.
They will join 700+ telecommunications professionals from the region and beyond to discuss how to seize the changing opportunities in this region's dynamic market. With mobile subscriptions forecasted by Informa Telecoms & Media to increase by 68% over the next 5 years, and mobile broadband launches enabling the growth of mobile data services, this region is definitely the place to be for international investors.

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