G-Mobile, the third Malawian cellular operator, will be operational by the end of the year and will add $150 million to the $25 million it has already committed for infrastructure.
The company is owned by Beryl Telecom which is 50% owned by a fund managed by Musa Capital, an SA-based private equity investment company.
Beryl Telecom focuses on the distribution of airtime in African countries like Zimbabwe, Burundi and Malawi.
The telecoms company was awarded the Malawi tender 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 SA to manage the network, ZTE as manufacturers of telecoms equipment and Weiss Appetito to supply the environmental infrastructure.”
G-Mobile has invested $25 million (R183 million) into the network and expects to see it up and running by the end of 2010.
“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, have 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.”
The company says equipment for building the network has been arriving in Malawi since July this year, and construction is underway to ensure that 22 sites will be operational in the coming months.
It adds that G-Mobile has modelled 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,” adds Jimerson
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