"We are predicting a very relevant entry in the market, we will invest millions of dollars in Angola. We are in advanced discussions with several financing partners to structure children," said the Lusa agency in London or Chief Investment Officer (CIO). from Africell.
A company, created in Lebanon, but currently managed from the British capital, acquired in the last five years US $ 370 million from entities such as the US investment agency the International Development Finance Corporation of the USA (USIDFC), formerly called Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), from the Gemcorp and Helios Investment Partners funds and the International Financial Corporation, which is part of the World Bank.
The scale of the investment planned by the pan-African operator reflects a potential conviction in the market, or one that exploded during the years of economic growth, but began to describe since 2014, following the drop in oil prices that dragged Angola into an economic crisis.
According to the Angolan Institute of Communications (Inacom), last year, the number of cellular service subscribers recovered for the first time in five years, down from 12% in 2018 to 14.8 million, while penetration rate went from 45 to 49 percent.
Unitel of market or market, with about 80 percent, ahead of Movicel, which has about 20 percent, while Angola Telecom (state-owned company in the process of privatization) has only a residual position.
"The [Angolan] telecommunications market is very attractive because there is very little real competition. A Unitel is a dominant player in the market and customers suffer as a result because they do not receive better terms of price, value and service than they use if there is competition and the dynamism it brings, "said Paterson.
A cost-benefit ratio will be an important component of Africell's strategy to break through the market, seeking users who have not yet used 'premium' services with more sophisticated pricing plans and devices, but with more affordable prices.
"We plan pricing plans that are much more creative and flexible. We will have more high-speed solutions, more value-added services. In particular, items such as mobile payments and content, which were not well integrated into the main communication product, will make part of our solution ", he told Lusa.
The objective is to add, contribute to the development in the country, to allow Angolans to use their cell phones more widely for educational, commercial or medical purposes.
Africell created 6000 direct and indirect jobs in the next three to five years, leveraging or training local human resources, with recruitment and starting soon
In terms of coverage, it is also possible to use existing infrastructure, use fiber optic cables and competitive telecommunications towers to avoid "unnecessary duplicate investments", but this issue depends on the regulator.
"Our proposal is based on the assumption that the regulations that the government spent an effort to elaborate a sharing of infrastructures and sharing of resources more broadly, implemented and fulfilled", stressed Paterson.
The company hopes to conclude negotiations with the government, which will continue during the confinement, until the end of September and start operations in mid-2021.
