Maroc Telecom Ahead of FT in Benin Telecom Bid

Morocco’s Maroc Telecom, controlled by French group Vivendi, is thought to be in a good position to bid for state-owned Benin Telecoms, according to African-bulletin.com, quoting French newspaper La Lettre Mediterrannee, following previous reports that France Telecom (FT) was in pole position for the privatisation of Benin’s incumbent telco.

The schedule for privatising the PSTN and broadband operator is unclear however, with observers saying that the issue could be clouded by upcoming presidential elections next spring, whilst Benin Telecoms’ workers’ union has warned that it will ‘react strongly’ to inevitable staff restructuring (‘downsizing’) plans resulting from a sale to the private sector.

Maroc Telecom has expanded across several African nations. In neighbouring Mauritania, it acquired 51% of Mauritel in 2001, and it acquired majority control of Burkina Faso’s Onatel in 2006 and Gabon Telecom the following year.

In 2009, Maroc Telecom signed an agreement with the Malian government to become the major stakeholder of Sotelma. The group is also eyeing other markets outside the traditional French speaking African countries which have strong political ties with Morocco.

Glo Gets Senegal Licence

Nigeria-based Globalcom (Glo Mobile) has reportedly been issued with a mobile operator’s licence in Senegal. If confirmed, the concession, the fourth to be awarded in the West African country, will also allow Globacom to land its Glo 1 trans-Atlantic submarine cable in Senegal, with opportunities to extend the infrastructure to Mali.

Local newspaper This Day quotes the Nigerian firm’s chairman Mike Adenuga Jr as saying that the licence would enable his company to offer ‘world class telecommunications services’ to the government and people of Senegal. ‘In line with our vision, Glo will continue to play a major role in stimulating a new era of prosperity in the sub-continent and build facilities that will offer Africa advanced telecoms services such as teleconferencing, distance learning, disaster recovery, telemedicine, on-line diagnosis and video conferencing during surgery and research,’ Globacom added in a statement.

The Nigerian company also holds operating licences in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin Republic and Cote d'Ivoire, but as reported recently, has threatened to exit the Ghanaian market citing sabotage as the reason.

Orange Money Now in Senegal, Mali and Madacascar

Orange has launched its mobile payment service, Orange Money, in three additional African countries - Senegal, Mali and Madagascar - in recent weeks. These launches mark a turning point in the Group's ambition to launch Orange Money across its footprint in Africa. Orange Money is an innovative, mobile phone-based payment system that allows customers to carry out simple banking operations and transactions in total security. Such services offer a huge potential in Africa where less than 10% of the population have access to a bank account and yet over a third have a mobile phone.

The service allows mobile customers to deposit and withdraw money, to transfer money, to easily buy call credit, to pay for goods at certain retail partners and to pay bills. The service is available for all Orange customers whether or not they have a bank account. The Orange Money account is activated free of charge and without any minimum deposit. Orange Money is built around a system that guarantees transactions against the risk of theft or fraud and that is fully compliant with the regulations.

The launch of Orange Money in Senegal, Mali and Madagascar follows on from the launch of the service in the Cote d'Ivoire in December 2008 after extensive trials. Commenting on this launch, Marc Rennard, Orange’s executive director for the Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific Region, said: ‘Orange Money is a very important part our strategy in Africa and emerging markets. Mobile payment services have the potential to bring cost-effective and secure access to banking services to people with low-incomes, who often live in rural or remote areas. By providing our customers with the means to save money, pay bills and run their businesses, we are not only reinforcing customer fidelity but we are also able to play an active role in the economic development of the country’.

Orange Money will also be launched in Niger and Kenya in the coming months, and will eventually be extended across the Group's entire footprint in Africa and the Middle East.

Orange Money Launched in Senegal, Mali & Madagascar

Orange has launched its mobile payment service, Orange Money, in three additional African countries - Senegal, Mali and Madagascar - in recent weeks. These launches mark a turning point in the Group's ambition to launch Orange Money across its footprint in Africa. Orange Money is an innovative, mobile phone-based payment system that allows customers to carry out simple banking operations and transactions in total security. Such services offer a huge potential in Africa where less than 10% of the population have access to a bank account and yet over a third have a mobile phone.

The service allows mobile customers to deposit and withdraw money, to transfer money, to easily buy call credit, to pay for goods at certain retail partners and to pay bills. The service is available for all Orange customers whether or not they have a bank account. The Orange Money account is activated free of charge and without any minimum deposit. Orange Money is built around a system that guarantees transactions against the risk of theft or fraud and that is fully compliant with the regulations.

The launch of Orange Money in Senegal, Mali and Madagascar follows on from the launch of the service in the Cote d'Ivoire in December 2008 after extensive trials. Commenting on this launch, Marc Rennard, Orange’s executive director for the Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific Region, said: ‘Orange Money is a very important part our strategy in Africa and emerging markets.

Mobile payment services have the potential to bring cost-effective and secure access to banking services to people with low-incomes, who often live in rural or remote areas. By providing our customers with the means to save money, pay bills and run their businesses, we are not only reinforcing customer fidelity but we are also able to play an active role in the economic development of the country’.

Orange Money will also be launched in Niger and Kenya in the coming months, and will eventually be extended across the Group's entire footprint in Africa and the Middle East.

Maroc Telecom Completes Fibre Link to Western Sahara

Moroccan communications group Maroc Telecom has reached 60% completion in the first phase of a plan to roll out a fibre-optic backbone network linking Morocco with West African countries, reports Dow Jones Newswires quoting Middle Eastern daily Asharq Al Awsat.

Phase one of the network will link the capital of Mauritania, Nouakchott, to El Ouyoun in Western Sahara, revealed Maroc Telecom's president Abdulsalam Ahizoune, whilst the finished route will link Mauritania, Gabon, Mali and Burkina Faso, he said.

France Telecom Plans To Cut Call Rates With New System

France Telecom (Orange) intends to cut the cost of call services in most of its African markets by implementing a new system it calls ‘Cell Broadcast’, Arnauld Blondet, the director for emerging countries, announced on Tuesday.

‘We launched Cell Broadcast in Botswana under the [local] name Sesolo. With the number of people interested in that offer, we can be optimistic about trying it soon in most of our African subsidiaries,’ Blondet told news agency PANA at the presentation of the technique.

France Telecom operates in 15 African countries including Egypt, Uganda, Mauritius, Madagascar, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Niger, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Kenya and Equatorial Guinea.

Vivendi in Need for Expansion As Maroc Telecom Growth Stalls

For a few days last month Maroc Telecom's parent company Vivendi looked like it might pull off one of the most audacious attempts yet to arrest control of one of the Middle East & Africa's largest mobile operations from the now well-entrenched players.

However, Zain, whose Celtel unit was the subject of the interest, could not agree on price with the French company and the chance of a deal - however unlikely most commentators, including your author, thought that to be - now looks to be dead and gone.

If a transaction had gone ahead it would most likely have had a significant effect on Maroc Telecom's place in the Vivendi group, with the Moroccan incumbent slotting in as part of a much larger overall portfolio.

As it is, the company remains Vivendi's sole venture in the emerging markets, and its sole vehicle for growth in Africa. In addition to its home operation and its long-standing subsidiary in Mauritania, Maroc Telecom has expanded into Burkina Faso and Gabon by purchasing the incumbents in these markets, and this year has followed those deals with the agreement to purchase a majority stake in Sotelma, the incumbent telco in Mali. The talks with Zain indicate, however, that management in France is not entirely content with this slow piece-wise expansion strategy.

The mobile business, which accounts for almost two-thirds of Maroc Telecom's MAD14.6bn strong top line, grew by 25.9% in connection terms in the year to 30th June 2008, but by just 5.9% in the most recent 12 months. Strong performances by the regional operators (+26% in Gabon, +30% in Mauritania, +74% in Burkina Faso) have failed to offset an almost complete arrest of growth in Morocco which grew by just 0.5% in the year. With 14.29m customers, the Moroccan business still accounts for 81% of the overall mobile base of 17.55m, whilst its fixed operation contributes 84% of the 1.5m strong landline total.

In revenue terms, the home business is even more dominant with 86% of the mobile turnover and 85% of the fixed - and it is convincingly the most profitable in both departments. In this light it is perhaps no wonder that Maroc Telecom's acquisition in Mali - involving around 1m customers - has failed to satisfy the appetites of the French owners. The question, if Celtel is off the menu, is where they will turn next?

Vodacom Introduces M-PESA In Tanzania

­Vodacom Tanzania has officially signed up BOA Bank to provide Vodafone M-PESA services to its clientele. Both prepaid and post-paid Vodacom customers are able to open a Vodafone M-PESA account at no cost at any authorised agents and at BOA Tanzania outlets. Mobile users on any network can receive money sent through the M-PESA service.

"We are delighted to announce the signing up of Bank of Africa (BOA) as the very first Bank in Tanzania to become Vodafone M-PESA agent," said George Rwehumbiza, Vodacom's Head of Sponsorships and Communications.

"Today, BOA adds on to our current 1,000 agents countrywide", he continued to say.

BOA Bank Tanzania is a Private Commercial Bank operating in Tanzania serving corporate and retail customers. BOA's major shareholder, the Bank of Africa Group is already operating in ten other African countries namely: Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Niger, Senegal, Uganda and Burundi with further plans of expanding.

Maroc Telecom Wins Mali's Sotelma Bid

Maroc Telecom has agreed to acquire 51 percent of the Mali national operator Sotelma from the local government. The Mali government declared the Moroccan operator the provisional winner of the auction, reports news agency APA, citing a statement from Maroc Telecom.

Maroc Telecom reportedly offered EUR 252 million for the controlling stake in Sotelmea, beating offers from Sudatel and Portugal Telecom. The Mali government will maintain a 20 percent stake in Sotelma. 

Mali Still Talking to Maroc Telecom Over Sotelma Sale

The government of Mali is still in talks to sell a majority stake in national operator Sotelma to Maroc Telecom, reports local daily L'Essor. Maroc Telecom presented its bid for a 51 percent stake in January.

The Moroccan operator, already active in several African countries, offered EUR 252 million, beating bids of EUR 111 million from Sudatel and EUR 80 million from Portugal Telecom, according to the paper.

The government has given itself three months to negotiate with Maroc Telecom, a communications ministry official told the paper. Two weeks ago a delegation from the Moroccan operator visited the country to continue the negotiations.

The ministry official said the government is hoping for an improvement in Maroc Telecom's offer, while also looking to secure certain guarantees on personnel and management after the privatisation. The government has already negotiated a social plan at Sotelma for 610 voluntary redundancies, out of total staff of 1,382.