Reliance sets sights on Africa with new telecom venture in Ghana

Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambaniis expanding its business footprint in Africa with a new telecommunications business in Ghana, targeting the growing market of mobile broadband users.

What happened: Radisys Corp., a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, will provide critical network infrastructure, applications and smartphones for Ghana-based Next-Gen InfraCo. (NGIC), according to a Bloomberg report. The announcement was made by Harkirit Singh, the executive director of NGIC, ahead of the launch of the company on Monday in Mumbai.

NGIC, which is set to become operational by the end of this year, will provide 5G broadband services to mobile operators and ISPs in Ghana. Singh said the company’s founding principle is to offer affordable digital services to emerging markets.

Also See: Tata Motors’ Jaguar Land Rover Expects To Outpace India’s Luxury Car Sector Growth

NGIC’s strategic partners include Nokia Oyj, Tech Mahindra Ltd. and Microsoft Corp. The company, which holds the only 5G license in Ghana, aims to emulate the success of Ambani’s Jio Infocomm Ltd. in India, a game changer in the Indian telecom sector with low cost data and free voice calls.

Two African telecommunications companies, Ascend Digital Solutions Ltd. and K-NET, jointly own a 55% stake in NGIC. The Ghanaian government will own just under 10% of NGIC, with the remaining shares held by local mobile operators and private investors.

NGIC has the exclusive right to offer 5G services in Ghana for a decade, with its license valid for 15 years. The company’s three-year capital expenditure is projected at $145 million.

Read Next: Dixon Technologies to start making Google Pixel 8 units in India by September