Vodafone Group will hand over management of its Ghana unit to the UK carrier\u2019s separately listed South African division in April, the latest step to bring the company\u2019s operations on the continent under one roof.<\/p>\n
Johannesburg-based Vodacom Group. will take responsibility for the West African business alongside other units including Tanzania, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa, chief executive officer Shameel Joosub said in an interview.<\/p>\n
Vodafone Ghana will keep its branding and there will be no transfer of assets from the U.K. parent, he said.<\/p>\n
The move marks the second change by Vodafone to its Africa operations this year, part of a wider effort to simplify the sprawling global carrier and focus management attention on fiercely competitive European markets.<\/p>\n
The Newbury, England-based company\u00a0agreed to sell its Egyptian business to Saudi Telecom for $2.4 billion last month to focus on the sub-Saharan region.<\/p>\n
And in 2017, Vodafone transferred a minority stake in Kenya\u2019s Safaricom, East Africa\u2019s biggest company, to Vodacom in an all-share deal worth about $2.6 billion.<\/p>\n
The changes add the kind of geographical reach that Vodacom could benefit from if the parent company eventually decides to sell down its 60% stake.<\/p>\n
Even if it doesn\u2019t – Joosub said such a move is not on the cards – putting the African businesses under the same management may help Vodacom gain economies of scale.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe larger group has sold some assets in north Africa, and the focus will be on sub-Saharan Africa under Vodacom,\u201d Joosub said at the carrier\u2019s offices north of Johannesburg.<\/p>\n
The CEO was also awarded a place on Vodacom\u2019s executive committee late last year, bringing him closer to the ear of Vodafone CEO Nick Read.<\/p>\n
Ethiopia Opportunity<\/strong><\/p>\n Vodacom has shown interest in Ethiopia\u2019s planned privatization of its state-owned phone monopoly, which will involve the auction of two new licenses and the sale of a minority stake in Ethio Telecom later this year.<\/p>\n While the timetable was recently pushed back, Joosub said he expects an information memorandum to be issued in April and May and the deals to be finalized in June.<\/p>\n Vodacom will\u00a0partner\u00a0with Safaricom on any bid, the CEO said. His counterpart at the Nairobi-based company, Michael Joseph, estimated last year that each license would cost about $1 billion, but Joosub countered that it\u2019s still too early to say.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will come down to the price points, the license fees and what obligations are attached,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have multiple teams on the ground to evaluate the market. They are compiling business plans to understand the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Other companies to have made their interest in Ethiopia clear are Paris-based Orange SA and Vodacom\u2019s Johannesburg-based rival, MTN Group Ltd. With a fast-growing population of more than 100 million and limited high-speed connectivity, the Horn of Africa nation is an attractive market, Joosub said.<\/p>\n
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