#49: Glo (Globacom) - How the private telecommunications company expanded across Nigeria & West Africa
Afrobility: Africa Tech and BusinessApril 15, 2022
49
01:55:49185.58 MB

#49: Glo (Globacom) - How the private telecommunications company expanded across Nigeria & West Africa

Overview: Today we’re going to talk about Globacom - The Nigerian telecommunications company. We’ll explore the Globacom story across 5 areas:

  1. Nigerian telco sector context
  2. Globacom's early history
  3. Globacom's telco & non-telco businesses
  4. Globacom's potential exit options
  5. Outlook

This episode was recorded on Apr 10, 2022


Companies discussed: Glo (Globacom), MTN, Airtel, NITEL (Nigerian Telecommunications Limited), Econet Wireless & 9mobile (Etisalat)


Business concepts discussed: Telecommunications (Telco) strategy, Mobile money, Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), Telco regulation, Celebrity advertising, Low-price telecoms strategy.


Conversation highlights:

  • (01:00) - Globacom background and why we’re talking about it
  • (07:40) - Globacom founding and spectrum auction
  • (20:30) - Mike Adenuga background
  • (30:20) - Globacom launch
  • (44:36) - Globacom African Expansion
  • (56:50) - Globacom core Telecom business
  • (1:07:58) - Globacom non-telco business
  • (1:19:50) - Competition and IPO / spinoff?
  • (1:29:48) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
  • (1:40:10) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
  • (1:46:30) - Recommendations & small wins


Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

  • Recommendation: Marc Andreessen Blog archive ebook. Aggregates some of Marc's posts from the late 2000s. Insightful and very funny
  • Small win: Hung out with my friend who was visiting from out of town (on a Wed night!)
  • Thanks to Ifunanya Chiegboka for helping me think about Glo Story
  • Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com
  • Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com


Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:


Investors, Operators, Entrepreneurs - We’d love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.