G-Mobile, the third cellular network operator in Malawi, will invest $150 million (R1 billion) in its network over the next three years. G-Mobile is owned by Beryl Telecom, which is 50% owned by a fund managed by Musa Capital, a private equity investment company based in South Africa.
Beryl Telecom is a telecoms company with a core business focus on the distribution of airtime in African countries like Zimbabwe, Burundi and Malawi. Due to their activity and expertise in the telecoms market, when a call for tenders for Malawi’s third mobile operator was published, the company submitted a tender, and was awarded it in 2009.
“Since then, we’ve been securing finance and identifying strategic partners,” says Tatenda Makawa, an executive at Beryl Telecom. “We have now partnered with Telkom Managed Services, a division of Telkom South Africa to manage the network, ZTE as manufacturers of telecoms equipment and Weiss + Appetito to supply the environmental infrastructure.”
G-Mobile has already committed and started spending $25 million (R183 million) into the network, and expects to see it up and running by the end of 2010. The capital that has been invested and the industry-leading partners that have been brought on board should secure G-Mobile a significant share of a telecoms market that is beset by service problems.
“The company’s goal is to establish a high quality service to distinguish it from competitors,” says G-Mobile CEO, Peter Davies. “To date in Malawi, an array of factors, including logistical difficulties, has created a high rate of dropped calls and other service issues with established operators. G-Mobile’s ethos is to raise the quality of services seen in the market while at the same time maintaining competitive pricing.”
Equipment for building the network has been arriving in the country since July this year, and construction is underway to ensure that 22 sites will be operational in the coming months. G-Mobile has modeled its operations on its activities in similar markets in eastern and southern Africa, and is committed to job creation in Malawi as well.
“Our investment in Beryl Telecom and G-Mobile is an example of identifying opportunities for growth in emerging markets,” says William Jimerson, founder and executive director of Musa Capital. “In Malawi, there exists a very real need for a cellular network operator that provides excellent service. With the proper investment and partners, G-Mobile can become one such operator. Having launched this operator with the intention and capability of providing this kind of service, we are confident that the returns will be significant.”
Musa is a private equity investment company that specialises in identifying opportunities in emerging markets and ensuring returns for its investors.
