The advent of mobile phone technology has dramatically changed the communications landscape in Africa. The ability to roll out mobile phone services without having to invest in expensive cabling infrastructure combined with massive inflows of private investment has seen Africa post spectacular increases in phone usage over the last decade.
ClickAfrique looks across the continent to identify the fastest growing mobile phone providers on the continent based on a survey by theMobileWorld. The figures used reflect the net number of new users added in the twelve months to June 2007.
8. Maroc Telecom (Morocco) Partly owned by the French conglomerate Vivendi which has a 51 per cent stake in the company, Maroc Telecom was formed from the separation of the Moroccan national posts and telecoms company ONPT. Maroc Telecom is the dominant mobile phone provider in the country and saw an increase in its customer base of 2.79 million.
7. MTN (South Africa) MTN has expanded from its South African roots to become Africa’s largest mobile phone operator by customer numbers. Increasingly though the growth has come from outside South Africa as it home market matures in comparison to the rest of Africa. The comparative maturity notwithstanding MTN South Africa still delivered a pretty decent 2.85 million additions.
6. Safaricom (Kenya) Safaricom a joint venture between Telkom Kenya and the Vodafone Group has grown to dominate the Kenyan market after overtaking its rival Celtel in 2001. One of the most profitable companies in Kenya with net profits growing at 66 per cent per annum, Safaricom saw its subscriber numbers rise by just over 3 million.
5. Vodacom (South Africa) Despite being engaged in a fierce competition with MTN for dominance in the South African market, Vodacom the joint venture between Telkom South Africa (50%) and the Vodafone Group (50%) has been able to add 3.5 million connections to its 58 per cent share of the South African market.
4. Vodafone (Egypt) Another Vodafone joint venture this time with Telecom Egypt (44.7%). Vodafone Egypt has the majority share of the Egyptian mobile phone market with 55 per cent, ahead of rival Mobinel and recent start up Etisalat. This year saw a new 3.9 million customers join its network.
3. MTN (Nigeria) MTN’s operations in Nigeria are its second largest operations by revenue after South Africa and it has a market share of 46% in the very competitive Nigerian Market. It added a phenomenal 4.4 million subscribers over the period to maintain this position.
2. Mobinel (Egypt) Mobinel is the second largest mobile phone operator in Egypt but its rapid expansion looks set to threaten its rival Vodafone Egypt. The company which is jointly owned by the Egyptian conglomerate Orascom and Orange the mobile phone division of France Telecom added 4.67 million in its race to be Egypt’s largest mobile phone company.
1. Globacom (Nigeria) The accolade for the fastest growing mobile phone company in Africa goes to Globacom. The privately held company has grown from a standing start in 2003 to become the second largest mobile phone company in Nigeria. Over the period being measured it added 6 million new customers and it if sustains this rate of growth it will be well on its way to being the biggest player in Africa’s largest market.