Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, with a fortune of $92 billion, has set his sights on the African market by moving to invest in Ghana’s telecoms market.
The move includes a partnership with a domestic Ghanaian telecommunications project to improve telecommunications in the country through 5G technology solutions.
Radisys Corp., a subsidiary of Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd, will enter into a partnership with Ghana’s Next-Gen InfraCo (NGIC), where Ambani’s Radisys Corp will supply NGIC with core network infrastructure, applications and smartphones. Bloomberg stated in the report.
NGIC Executive Director Harkirit Singh disclosed the development ahead of NGIC’s launch announcement scheduled to take place today in Mumbai, which serves as India’s financial hub.
NGIC aims to offer 5G broadband services to Ghanaian phone users and internet service providers and hopes to be operational by the end of this year.
Mr. Singh outlined the company’s goal and mission and how it aligns with what it hopes to achieve in Ghana.
“The company is based on a premise of creating affordable digital services in emerging markets,Singh said.
Ghana, a country of 33 million people is an emerging market in Africa and as of today has three major telecommunication providers which include MTN Ghana, Vodafone Ghana and the state run AirtelTigo.
Mr Singh explained that NGIC is able to build broadband services at scale because of its strategic partners, possession of Ghana’s only 5G license and technological know-how.
NGIC is partly owned by two African telecommunications companies that jointly own a 55% stake in the company. They include Ascend Digital Solutions Ltd. and K-NET, as Mr. Singh explained.
The Government of Ghana has a 10% stake in NGIC and the remaining shares are held by private players and local mobile operators.
Mukesh Ambani’s Radisys Corp’s partnership with Ghana-based NGIC is a strategic business move to increase Indian influence on the African continent and China’s near-monopoly on the checkmate at the moment.
Nigeria remains the largest telecommunications market in Africa with a growth rate of 7% year-on-year and could use such private investment to stimulate competition in the country’s telecommunications space and increase value for end users.
What to know
- Radisys Corp is a subsidiary of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries. Reliance Industries is the largest private sector company in India. It deals with oil refining, petrochemical, natural gas, retail, textile and now Telecom businesses.
- Ghana’s NGIC in partnership with Radisys Corp has secured exclusive rights to offer 5G services in Ghana for up to a decade, with a license extending up to 15 years.
- Nigeria’s telecoms sector is riddled with poor internet service, even though it claims to be 5G, it’s making users opt for new alternatives like Elon Musk’s Starlink and homegrown ISPs like FibreOne