'Ab Har Ghar Jio¡¯? Reliance Chief Mukesh Ambani Eyes New ¡®Affordable' Telecom Venture In Africa

While the Ambani household gears up for Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant¡¯s pre-wedding cruise, it doesn¡¯t mean that business is going to take a backseat.

Reliance Industries has big expansion plans as chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani is set to explore the African market with an all new telecom venture to capture mobile broadband customers in the vast market.

Radisys Corp., a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd., is set to provide crucial network infrastructure, applications, and smartphones for Next-Gen InfraCo, based in Ghana, as per a Bloomberg report.

Mukesh Ambani with daughter Isha Ambani | Photo: Bollywood

Harkirit Singh, the executive director of NGIC, outlined these strategies before NGIC's official launch announcement scheduled for Monday in Mumbai, India's financial center. NGIC, slated to start functioning by year-end, will provide 5G broadband services to mobile operators and internet service providers in Ghana. Singh emphasized that the company's focus is on creating accessible digital services in developing markets, as reported by Bloomberg News.

NGIC also counts Nokia Oyj, Indian outsourcing company Tech Mahindra Ltd., and Microsoft Corp. among its strategic partners. Microsoft's increased interest in the telecom sector stems from its acquisition of two cloud networking firms in 2020.

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MTN Ghana, Vodafone Ghana & The State-Operated AirtelTigo Are The Three Primary Operators At The Moment

Singh highlighted that Ghana, with a population slightly surpassing 33 million in West Africa, is home to three primary operators: MTN Ghana, Vodafone Ghana, and the state-operated AirtelTigo. NGIC's strategic partners, combined technological capabilities, and exclusive ownership of Ghana's sole 5G license position it to develop broadband services at a large scale. This would otherwise entail considerable costs for individual mobile carriers.

reliance mukesh ambani salary/bloomberg

According to the Bloomberg report, Singh mentioned that two African telecom firms, Ascend Digital Solutions Ltd. and K-NET, have a combined 55% ownership stake in the new company. The Ghanaian government will hold just under 10% ownership in NGIC, while local mobile operators and private investors will possess the remaining shares. Additionally, Singh also holds the position of chief executive at Ascend.

NGIC has secured the exclusive authority to deliver 5G services in Ghana for the next ten years, with its license remaining valid for 15 years. Singh stated that the company's capital expenditure for the upcoming three years is earmarked at $145 million.

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NGIC Aims To Replicate What Jio Did In The Indian Market - Introduce Low-Cost Data And Free Voice Calling

NGIC aspires to emulate the success of Ambani's Jio Infocomm Ltd. in India. Jio disrupted the Indian telecom sector by introducing affordable data and free voice calls upon its launch in late 2016, leading to the closure of some competitors and the consolidation of others. It is widely credited with making mobile data accessible to hundreds of millions of Indians. Presently, Jio holds the position of India's largest mobile operator with 470 million users.

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The collaboration between Reliance and NGIC marks a diplomatic win for India, as the nation seeks to counterbalance China's increasing influence in Africa through initiatives such as digital inclusion.

None of the strategic partners, including Reliance, hold any equity in NGIC at present. However, Singh explained that the company intends to provide them with the option to receive a portion of their payments as equity in the future.

"We need to demonstrate success and the value we create before they consider coming on board," Singh stated. "That's the ongoing discussion we're having with them."