Peut-on laisser TOUT son secteur des télécommunications en mains étrangères ? Voici le 6e opérateur en téléphonie mobile au Congo-Kinshasa : Africell, succursale d’une société Libanaise... africell/Company-History-and-Evolution Fresh out of college with an MS degree in Engineering from Columbia University, Ziad Dalloul came back to his native country Lebanon when the long and difficult rebuilding process had just begun. His first venture in telecom infrastructure started with a relatively small setup that grew quickly, with projects in Lebanon and the neighboring countries. As a natural born entrepreneur, he sensed the exceptional upcoming opportunities in telecom operations; at a time where penetration forecasts for the Middle Eastern countries were extremely shy and investors as well as bankers preferred investing in construction rather than telecom. LibanCell was his first mobile operation participation, through a minority shareholding that eventually grew to become the largest shareholding entity. At the time, neither banks nor other shareholders really believed in the mobile telephony growth potential. That meant growth could only be internally financed which proved to be an invaluable lesson for the future; as only such hardened companies were able to withstand the upcoming turbulences. It is worth noting that LibanCell overtook the competition (France Telecom) to acquire the biggest market share; it was in a way the homegrown boys against the multinational. The next move was Africa as Ziad realized the untapped potential. The debut was modest as he reinvested the LibanCell cash-in proceeds in a relatively small network in The Gambia, and Africell was born. It was 2001, post 9/11, the world was changing fast and investors were not so bullish for Africa let alone the Telecom sector in Africa; once again self-financed growth was the only way forward. Telecom was at its early debut in Africa and there wasn’t yet an African specific success precedent as multinational operators were having their “hotel lobbies” launches applying European recipes to African Music markets. A new model had to be conceived and a new type of teams had to be built; the existing telecom executives were simply not adaptable to the African markets. An atypical team of mid-level telecom professionals started being assembled from various operations with a unique focal point; they all wanted and believed that they deserved their chance at success. Creativity and entrepreneurship were fostered and highly encouraged to become the organizational DNA; the company’s growth and survivability depended on them. Thinking and acting outside the box became more than just a slogan; it had to become a state of mind. Bags of rice as a promotional gift with SIM cards! That was the first promotion that marked the Group’s learning curve of marketing telecom as an FMCG. The recipe for the new formula was being brewed; no more “expand your potential” big corporate slogans; more like “all man Kin Tok” a Kreo English slogan used in Africell Sierra Leone in 2005, meaning everyone can now have access to telecommunications: it’s a right not a privilege.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 10:12:08 +0000
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