Airtel scoops 2013 African operator award

BHARTI Airtel, one of the country’s leading telecommunications service providers with operations in 20 countries across South Asia and Africa, has been recognised as the African Operator for 2013 at the CommsMEA Awards.
Airtel out-shined strong shortlisted contenders, among others the MTN Group, Vodacom and Nedjma, at the eighth edition of the event held at Jumeirah Emirates Tower in Dubai.
The event was attended by over 300 executives from the telecommunications sector, vendors, ministers and regulators.
The award recognises excellence within the telecommunications sector across the Middle East and Africa.
This is according to a statement released in Lusaka yesterday.
The winners were picked from a record number of nominations by a judging panel.
Bharti Airtel managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) (international), Manoj Kohli is elated by the achievement.
“We are humbled by this recognition and the trust that the international industry panel, consumers and other stakeholders have placed on Airtel since our entry into Africa in 2010,” he said.
Mr Kohli said in the past three years, the company has succeeded in serving more communities within countries it operates.

source: www.daily-mail.co

MTN partners on e-commerce services for Africa

MTN Group has announced a partnership agreement that will enable Africa’s leading telecoms operator to extend online retail and other essential digital services on the African continent.

MTN has partnered with Rocket Internet and Millicom International Cellular to develop internet businesses in Africa through Africa Internet Holding (AIH), an exclusive vehicle to develop e-commerce businesses across the continent. MTN, Millicom and Rocket Internet will each become 33.3% shareholders in AIH.

Commenting on the transaction, Sifiso Dabengwa, MTN Group President and CEO, said: “We are excited to engage in a strategic partnership with Rocket Internet and Millicom to develop online ventures across the fast growing internet markets of Africa. Rocket Internet’s proven successful track record, coupled with Millicom and MTN’s leading mobile telecommunications position, will allow the partnership to capture the growth potential of the digital media space across our footprint in the region”.

source: www.biztechafrica.com

Rocket Internet Partners With African Telecom Operator MTN To Invest $410M in Middle East Startups

MTN Group and Rocket Internet announced that they have formed a new joint venture to invest in startups in the Middle East, with a focus on e-commerce. The two companies will each hold a 50% stake in Middle East Internet Holding (MEIH).

The announcement follows another partnership, concluded earlier this week, between MTN, Rocket Internet and Millicom International Cellular, to develop startups in Africa through Africa Internet Holding (AIH). MTN expects to pour 300 million euro (about USD$400 million) into AIH and MEIH, subject to regulatory approval, by the first and second quarter of 2014, respectively.

Based in Johannesburg, MTN is one of Africa’s largest telecom operators. Rocket Internet can potentially leverage MTN’s footprint as it seeks to tap into the continent’sfastest growing Internet markets, including Kenya and Nigeria.

Its agreement with MTN follows several other key partnerships cemented by Rocket Internet. For example, earlier this month Rocket Internet and U.K. retail giant Tesco, the world’s second-largest retailer by revenues after Wal-mart, announced a strategic investment partnership that began with a $250 million lead investment in Lazada. The online marketplace, in which Rocket Internet has invested $486 million so far, operates in Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

source: www.techcrunch.com

Rocket Internet Partners With African Telecom Operator MTN

MTN Group and Rocket Internet announced that they have formed a new joint venture to invest in startups in the Middle East, with a focus on e-commerce. The two companies will each hold a 50% stake in Middle East Internet Holding (MEIH).

The announcement follows another partnership, concluded earlier this week, between MTN, Rocket Internet and Millicom International Cellular, to develop startups in Africa through Africa Internet Holding (AIH). MTN expects to pour 300 million euro (about USD$400 million) into AIH and MEIH, subject to regulatory approval, by the first and second quarter of 2014, respectively.

Based in Johannesburg, MTN is one of Africa’s largest telecom operators. Rocket Internet can potentially leverage MTN’s footprint as it seeks to tap into the continent’s fastest growing Internet markets, including Kenya and Nigeria.

Its agreement with MTN follows several other key partnerships cemented by Rocket Internet. For example, earlier this month Rocket Internet and U.K. retail giant Tesco, the world’s second-largest retailer by revenues after Wal-mart, announced a strategic investment partnership that began with a $250 million lead investment in Lazada. The online marketplace, in which Rocket Internet has invested $486 million so far, operates in Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

source: www.techcrunch.com

rocket internet partners with MTN group

MTN Group and Rocket Internet announced that they have formed a new joint venture to invest in startups in the Middle East, with a focus on e-commerce. The two companies will each hold a 50% stake in Middle East Internet Holding (MEIH).

The announcement follows another partnership, concluded earlier this week, between MTN, Rocket Internet and Millicom International Cellular, to develop startups in Africa through Africa Internet Holding (AIH). MTN expects to pour 300 million euro (about USD$400 million) into AIH and MEIH, subject to regulatory approval, by the first and second quarter of 2014, respectively.

Based in Johannesburg, MTN is one of Africa’s largest telecom operators. Rocket Internet can potentially leverage MTN’s footprint as it seeks to tap into the continent’sfastest growing Internet markets, including Kenya and Nigeria.

Its agreement with MTN follows several other key partnerships cemented by Rocket Internet. For example, earlier this month Rocket Internet and U.K. retail giant Tesco, the world’s second-largest retailer by revenues after Wal-mart, announced a strategic investment partnership that began with a $250 million lead investment in Lazada. The online marketplace, in which Rocket Internet has invested $486 million so far, operates in Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Back in July, Rocket Internet also said it had raised an additional $500 million from two regular investors, Kinnevik and Access, to fund new and existing ventures with a focus on Latin America and Asia.

source: www.techcrunch.com

airtel scoops 2013 African operator award

BHARTI Airtel, one of the country’s leading telecommunications service providers with operations in 20 countries across South Asia and Africa, has been recognised as the African Operator for 2013 at the CommsMEA Awards.
Airtel out-shined strong shortlisted contenders, among others the MTN Group, Vodacom and Nedjma, at the eighth edition of the event held at Jumeirah Emirates Tower in Dubai.
The event was attended by over 300 executives from the telecommunications sector, vendors, ministers and regulators.
The award recognises excellence within the telecommunications sector across the Middle East and Africa.
This is according to a statement released in Lusaka yesterday.
The winners were picked from a record number of nominations by a judging panel.
Bharti Airtel managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) (international), Manoj Kohli is elated by the achievement.
“We are humbled by this recognition and the trust that the international industry panel, consumers and other stakeholders have placed on Airtel since our entry into Africa in 2010,” he said.
Mr Kohli said in the past three years, the company has succeeded in serving more communities within countries it operates.
“We also hope to change their lives through not only the voice but also the data and mobile commerce services that we provide,” he said.
Airtel Africa is the largest third generation (3G) and mobile commerce country footprint in sub-Saharan Africa.
The telecommunications company provides 3G services in 14 African countries and Airtel Money services in 17 countries across the continent.
With coverage across Airtel Africa’s operations in the 17 countries, the mobile money platform is poised to serve more diverse communities than any other financial institution in Africa.
Currently leveraging a network of over 100,000 agent locations, Airtel Money facilitates access to financial services for the unbanked population.

source: www.daily-mail.co

MTN partners on e-commerce services for Africa

MTN Group has announced a partnership agreement that will enable Africa’s leading telecoms operator to extend online retail and other essential digital services on the African continent.

MTN has partnered with Rocket Internet and Millicom International Cellular to develop internet businesses in Africa through Africa Internet Holding (AIH), an exclusive vehicle to develop e-commerce businesses across the continent. MTN, Millicom and Rocket Internet will each become 33.3% shareholders in AIH.

Commenting on the transaction, Sifiso Dabengwa, MTN Group President and CEO, said: “We are excited to engage in a strategic partnership with Rocket Internet and Millicom to develop online ventures across the fast growing internet markets of Africa. Rocket Internet’s proven successful track record, coupled with Millicom and MTN’s leading mobile telecommunications position, will allow the partnership to capture the growth potential of the digital media space across our footprint in the region”.

Founded in 2012 as a joint venture between Rocket Internet and Millicom International Cellular, AIH is a leading internet group in Africa, with presence in 13 countries on the continent, including South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. The company has developed several successful e-commerce ventures in the last 18 months, including Jumia, Zando, Kaymu, Jovago, Lamudi, Carmudi, Easytaxi and Hellofood.

Commenting on the agreement today, Millicom President and CEO, Hans-Holger Albrecht said:“We are pleased to welcome MTN as a strategic partner to accelerate the growth of our online alliance in Africa. It is a significant vote of confidence in its future. Between us we have more than 220 million mobile customers in the continent with very limited overlap. MTN is the leader in Nigeria and South Africa, the largest markets for AIH currently, while Millicom contributes through its leading positions in our markets, combined with one of the most innovative product offerings.”

source: www.biztechafrica.com

Rocket Internet Partners With African Telecom Operator MTN To Invest $410M in Middle East Startups

MTN Group and Rocket Internet announced that they have formed a new joint venture to invest in startups in the Middle East, with a focus on e-commerce. The two companies will each hold a 50% stake in Middle East Internet Holding (MEIH).
The announcement follows another partnership, concluded earlier this week, between MTN, Rocket Internet and Millicom International Cellular, to develop startups in Africa through Africa Internet Holding (AIH). MTN expects to pour 300 million euro (about USD$400 million) into AIH and MEIH, subject to regulatory approval, by the first and second quarter of 2014, respectively.

Based in Johannesburg, MTN is one of Africa’s largest telecom operators. Rocket Internet can potentially leverage MTN’s footprint as it seeks to tap into the continent’s fastest growing Internet markets, including Kenya and Nigeria.

Its agreement with MTN follows several other key partnerships cemented by Rocket Internet. For example, earlier this month Rocket Internet and U.K. retail giant Tesco, the world’s second-largest retailer by revenues after Wal-mart, announced a strategic investment partnership that began with a $250 million lead investment in Lazada. The online marketplace, in which Rocket Internet has invested $486 million so far, operates in Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Back in July, Rocket Internet also said it had raised an additional $500 million from two regular investors, Kinnevik and Access, to fund new and existing ventures with a focus on Latin America and Asia.

Africa and the Middle East are two key emerging markets in Berlin-based Rocket Internet’s global expansion strategy, which is especially important for Rocket Internet because Europe’s e-commerce market is already saturated.

Rocket’s investments in the Middle East include mobile app Easytaxi, real-estate listings site Lamudi, fashion retailer Namshi and delivery service Hellofood.

In a statement, MTN Group president and CTO Sifiso Dabengway said “The agreement with Rocket marks yet another important milestone in our journey of pursuing digital business adjacencies as one of our key strategic priorities, to drive growth and value for our customers.”

source: www.techcrunch.com

Ericcson powers MTN Rwanda mobile money service

MTN Rwanda has deployed its Converged Wallet m-commerce solution. The launch brings easy-to-use, next-generation mobile financial services to MTN Rwanda's subscribers, including mobile phone users that do not have access to traditional banking services. Ericsson is providing the operator with a flexible, reliable and efficient m-commerce solution that includes Ericsson Converged Wallet, systems integration and operational support.

"Optimizing the mobile money experience directly impacts consumer stickiness and with Ericsson Converged Wallet, we can now respond rapidly to requirements from consumers and merchants and provide reliable services. Paying your bill or sending money to family and friends has never been easier" said Pieter Verkade, MTN Group Chief Commercial Officer.

Ericsson Converged Wallet enables MTN Rwanda to quickly introduce relevant, new and differentiated mobile wallet end-user services to its mobile money customers. With Ericsson Converged Wallet, MTN can seamlessly launch new offers and bundles that integrate telecom prepaid services with mobile money services.

"Ericsson Converged Wallet helps MTN Rwanda offer the convenience of m-wallet financial services across its entire subscriber base," said Bjorn Engstrom, Head of M-commerce, Ericsson. "This breakthrough deployment is yet another example of MTN's ongoing commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction."

Ericsson has a strategic partnership with MTN Rwanda parent company, MTN Group (JSE: MTN), to ultimately introduce Ericsson Converged Wallet across the operator's footprint. MTN Group has more than thirteen million mobile money subscribers throughout 14 countries in Africa.

"With the new Ericsson Converged Wallet platform, we are looking forward to bringing more innovation into the Rwandan market. We want to continue leading the market in terms of breadth and quality of services. We expect to see a positive impact for both our partner agents and our customers," said Ebenezer Asante, CEO of MTN Rwanda.

source: aalafrica.com