Kenya: Indian company invests $500m in Econet network

India’s Essar Global Ltd. will invest US$500 million over two years in Kenya’s newest mobile phone service operator, Econet Wireless Kenya Ltd., to set up a network, among other things, said S. Srinivasa, the East Africa director for the group. Srinivasa spoke to journalists in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, late Wednesday.

Econet Wireless Kenya Ltd. CEO Michael Foley said the investment will also pay for licenses for other telecommunications services and the establishment of a wireless broadband service. Foley said the mobile phone network would be running by the end of November.

Srinivasa said that Essar will make the investment because the company has confidence in the Kenyan economy, following a deal to end postelection violence earlier this year that killed more than 1,000 people. He said, “Kenya is the gateway for Africa for Essar.”

According to the regional grouping the East African Community, Kenya has the highest number of mobile phone users in the region (7.3 million), followed by Tanzania (6.2 million) and Uganda (2.7 million). That is based on 2006 figures, which are the most recent comparative statistics.

Essar’s proposed investment surpasses that of the semiprivate Telkom Kenya, which is a France Telecom-led consortium owned with the Kenyan government.