MTN’s Ugandan subsidiary has raised $100 million in debt to fund the expansion of its network. Isaac Nsereko, Chief Marketing Officer at MTN confirmed the development to the Reuters news agency.
Absa Capital, the investment banking arm of Absa Group was lead arranger of the syndicated loan.
“We are using it to invest in the network, different sections of the network really,” Isaac Nsereko told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Based on data from the Mobile World, the country’s five current operators and their market shares are: MTN (41%); Zain (22%); Uganda Telecom (19%); Warid Telecom (17%) and Orange (2%).
A sixth network, I-Tel launched its network last month.
MTN Uganda | Absa Capital | Zain Uganda | Uganda Telecom | Warid Telecom Uganda | Orange Uganda
Source(s): Cellular News
Orange Uganda has selected Alcatel-Lucent to build, operate, and manage the Orange Uganda mobile network, by providing technical support, repair, field maintenance, and program management services.
Globacom Limited, Nigeria’s second national operator (SNO) has its eyes on Aircom, a GSM licensee in Cote d‘Ivoire in a bid to advance its plan to enter Cote d’Ivoire’s mobile telephony market. According to a report in Nigeria’s Technology Times, Globacom may have opened talks with Aircom in a bid to enter the market anytime soon but details are still very hazy for now.
The scramble for mobile markets in Africa is well underway, and while early activity was driven by expansionist local operators like MTN, the European giants are now stepping up their game, with French players poised to shake up the picture significantly.
