In this videocast, I make a case why Globacom, the operator of the Glo brand in Nigeria, will acquire Etisalat Nigeria, in 2017. Etisalat Nigeria is in a very challenging position to pay back about $1.2 billion loan to a consortium of banks. In the current market dynamics, with deteriorating ARPU (average revenue per user), it will be extremely difficult for the telecom company to meet that obligation. Glo has liquidity, relatively, and is owned by a respected businessman (Mike Adenuga) who can raise any capital required to close a deal. Glo needs to close its subscriber gap with MTN which enjoys more than 20 million extra subscribers. You may ask – why not MTN, Airtel or AMCON? Answers here.
Kondoa, Rukarara And Winneba Win $7M From Access Co-Development Facility Competition
Access Power a developer, owner and operator of renewable power projects in emerging markets in partnership with EREN Renewable Energy (www.EREN-Groupe.com) a global independent power producer, has announced the three winners of the 2017 US$7 million Access Co-Development Facility (ACF) – an innovative funding and support platform for renewable energy projects in Africa.
The three winning projects, hailing from Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana, were selected from a technologically and geographically diverse pool of 82 entrants from 23 countries after having presented to a live panel of industry expert judges. The panel based their final selection on the commercial, technical and environmental merits of the projects presented, as well as the local regulatory environment and capability of the project teams. The winners will share the US$7 million pot provided by the Access Co-Development Facility as well as technical support and expertise.
This year’s winners are:
- Tanzania: 30MW, Kondoa, Solar PV project
- Rwanda: 9.7MW, Rukarara, Hydro project
- Ghana: 48MW, Winneba, Wind project
When completed, the projects will collectively provide over 85MW of electricity, enough to power more than 420,000 homes and business across Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana. The winners were announced today in Copenhagen at the 19th annual Africa Energy Forum, following a presentation by the five shortlisted developers to a panel of expert judges.
The winning projects will now enter into Joint Development Agreements with Access Power, who will take an equity stake. This year’s competition was notable for the dominance of solar, with just under half of this year’s entries and three of the five shortlisted projects falling under the category, but also for the high number of applications from countries with low levels of electrification. Of the 23 countries represented in this year’s edition, 18 have electrification rates below 30%. This year’s application process also further highlighted the rise of East and West Africa as hotspots for renewable energy development, with nearly 80% of all applicants hailing from both sides of the continent.
GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Opens £250,000 Grant Applications
The GSMA’s Ecosystem Accelerator has unveiled its applications for the second round of grants through its Innovation Fund, with up to GB£250,000 on offer to startups from Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.
The GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund provides selected start-ups in Africa and Asia Pacific with grant funding, technical assistance, and the opportunity to partner with mobile operators in their markets to help scale their products and services into sustainable businesses with positive socio-economic impact.
Apply by 16 July 2017
Round 2 of the Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund opened on 1 June 2017 and all pitches are due by 16 July 2017 at 11.59pm GMT.
Areas of interests for this round are: ‘sharing economy’ and ‘services for SME’.
1. Sharing economy: defined as any mobile-based platform, product or service which enables low-income citizens in emerging markets to generate income from ‘underutilised assets’ through sharing those assets with their peers.
2. Services for SMEs: defined as any mobile-based solution, product or service designed for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) – formal or informal – in emerging markets which unlock improved productivity and growth.
Curious about the start-ups that have been successful in the past? In April 2017 they announced our first round of start-ups with some of them from Africa as noted in the graph below. Read our blog post to find out more.
Troublesome Video of Robbers In Zenith Bank Owerri on CCTV Footage
A four-man armed robbery gang on February 22, 2017, stormed and attacked a Zenith Bank Owerri branch – Wetheral road Owerri, Imo state capital. The attack that left three police men and five bank customers injured and one of the armed robbers dead.
Nigeria Ranks Poorly, Behind Kenya, On Global Comparison Of Broadband Speeds
Akamai Technologies has announced the release of its First Quarter, 2017 State of the Internet Report. Based on data gathered from the Akamai Intelligent Platform, Nigeria is still not doing great. Kenya is miles apart from Nigeria. The report provides insight into key global statistics such as connection speeds, broadband adoption metrics, notable Internet disruptions, IPv4 exhaustion and IPv6 implementation across markets. The key notables.
Average Broadband Speeds
Average Peak Connection Speeds
