East Africa Volume 2

vision for the future of communications in Africa. In a message to stakeholders, Manoj Kohli, CEO (International) and joint Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, explained that by operating under a single brand across Africa, Airtel will deliver on its vision to provide affordable and innovative mobile services for all. In addition to hosting a press conference and a VIP event, Airtel also celebrated its brand launch by donating a lifetime Airtel package – comprising of a Nokia mobile phone, SIM card and free talk time and SMS credits – to all babies born in select hospitals across Africa. The package, now available from retail outlets, further demonstrates Airtel’s commitment to make mobile communication more affordable for everyone. THE PRODUCT Airtel provides mobile communications services across sixteen markets in Africa, including: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Airtel’s African operations are owned by Bharti Airtel Limited, a leading global telecommunications company with total operations in nineteen countries across Asia and Africa. The company offers mobile voice and data services, fixed line, high speed broadband, IPTV, DTH, turnkey telecom solutions for THE MARKET Affordability, innovation and community engagement are the three pillars of success for Airtel Africa, which owns and operates mobile communications networks across sixteen markets in Africa. As part of Bharti Airtel, the company boasts over 200 million customers globally and, since its acquisition of Zain’s African businesses in June 2010, has become the fifth largest telecoms company in the world. In Africa alone, Airtel has over 40 million customers to date and aims to attract more than 100 million customers across the continent, as well as to become Africa’s most loved brand by 2015. It aims to achieve this through fulfilling its vision of making telephony available and affordable for the masses across Africa, even in the most remote areas which are at present disconnected from the world. A progressive company, Airtel has changed the game in global mobile communications by pioneering a managed services outsourcing model and partnering with leading global technology vendors like IBM and Ericsson. These partnerships ensure that Airtel delivers consistently excellent customer services and its networks feature the latest generation technologies. ACHIEVEMENTS In February 2011, Airtel Africa scooped two awards at the premiere annual telecom industry awards, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Global Mobile Award 2011. The company was awarded the ‘Best Mobile Money Product or Solution’ and ‘Best Customer Care and Customer Relationship Management (CRM)’ for its recently launched innovative payment product, known as Airtel Pay OnLine and a customer relationship management solution named Airtel Treasure Hunt. The winning Best Mobile Money Product or Solution, the Airtel Pay OnLine, is touted as the world’s first virtual card that operates off a wallet residing on a mobile phone. This innovative payment offers communities the opportunity for greater participation in the financial system as they realise the substantial benefits of mobile commerce. The single use debit card offering is a partnership between Airtel, MasterCard and Standard and Chartered Bank. Airtel’s second plaudit at the event, Airtel Treasure Hunt, was a joint submission between Airtel and Tango Telecoms, a mobile systems solutions provider. The innovation, known as Dynamic Pricing Service, gives Airtel the ability to price Voice and Data services dynamically based on location, cell load, time of day, subscriber type and/or subscriber activity. The service was launched in Niger, Uganda, Zambia and Congo. The two awards mark a key milestone in Airtel’s quest for relevant and innovative mobile solutions that will transform the lives of millions of users across the continent. The Global Mobile Awards are the most coveted awards in the global mobile industry and encompass leading players across all the subsectors spanning 219 countries, nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, internet companies and media and entertainment organisations. HISTORY In November 2010 Bharti Airtel launched the Airtel brand across the continent. At launch events held simultaneously across the markets, Airtel revealed its new logo and outlined the company’s 16