In a serious change to its government lineup, Safaricom, Kenya’s largest telecom firm, has tapped Frankline Okata as its new Chief Enterprise Enterprise Officer. This announcement got here barely days after Cynthia Karuri-Kropac, the corporate’s former government, left the function.
Catch up: Previously, information and voice income was essential income drivers for African telecom firms. Knowledge has remained regular, whereas voice has declined. Because of this, the demand for web connectivity has led telecom firms, looking for to develop their income baskets, to strengthen infrastructure for information and information providers.
Safaricom has run an enterprise providers arm for over 20 years. But it surely doubled down in 2022, ramping up cloud, web of issues (IoT), and information storage providers for company purchasers. By the top of 2024’s monetary yr, the corporate’s fastened service and wholesale transit enterprise (which incorporates enterprise connectivity and cloud) had grown by 12% year-on-year to KES 15.11 billion ($117 million). Enterprise income alone reached $8.63 billion ($67 million).
MTN Nigeria, one other telecom firm, just lately finalised the primary part of its native information centre as a transparent play to supply enterprise options. The guess appears to be that B2B gross sales will usher in regular quantity and larger income, whereas consumer-facing merchandise will increase the bottom-line.
State of play: That is the third time in 2 years Safaricom has crammed the identical function, indicating the significance of its enterprise enterprise arm. As a high-revenue potential enterprise, the funding can be simply as excessive; if it’s going to be spending cash, Safaricom needs clear returns.
But, the management churn on the prime of this unit is a flashing crimson mild. Three chiefs in two years is an indication of simply how excessive the stakes are, and the way powerful the job is. With Okata’s rent, Safaricom is adopting Nike’s playbook and going for a servant rent. Will native know-how convey that stability it badly lacks?
Elevate your perspective with NextTech Information, the place innovation meets perception.
Uncover the newest breakthroughs, get unique updates, and join with a worldwide community of future-focused thinkers.
Unlock tomorrow’s traits at the moment: learn extra, subscribe to our e-newsletter, and grow to be a part of the NextTech neighborhood at NextTech-news.com
