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By Nwakaego Alajemba
The preferred bidder for 9mobile, Teleology Holdings has unveiled its 10-point agenda to turn the troubled telco around.
Promoted by Adrian Wood, a former chief executive of MTN Nigeria, Teleology made the mandatory $50 million non-refundable cash deposit for 9Mobile midweek to effectively secure its ownership of Nigeria’s fourth largest telecoms operator.
Having beaten the Thursday’s deadline for mandatory payment, Wood’s Teleology said it would now begin a full term turn around plan to reposition the company and make it profitable for its investors.
But before then, Wood and his partners must make the balance payment of $500 million bid price. They have another 90 days to do so or risk forfeiting the $50 million non-refundable cash deposit .
Looking ahead market with Safaricom
Teleology is already looking ahead to advance its turnaround agenda for 9Mobile. In an official statement, the company announced a partnership with Kenya’s telecom giant Safaricom targeting to leverage on Safaricom’s experience as East Africa’s largest network to make 9Mobile recoup its losses and regain its traction in Nigeria’s markets of over 145 million subscribers.
“9mobile is transiting into a new phase that will be defined by optimal value delivery: value to our employees, value to our customers, value to local communities and indeed to all stakeholders,” said Wood in the statement; adding that the company will be “engineering led and brand driven.”
Aggressive technology and brand push
Wood added that Teleology has set out a 10-point plan that aggregates its mission and how it intends to turn the 9mobile organisation around.
As CEO of MTN Nigeria, Wood grew a strong brand out of Nigeria’s largest telecom company of more than 45 million subscribers to outpace its closest rivals in brand and market positioning. MTN has since kept that position as a market leader.
In their agenda for 9Mobile, the new investors are fostering a growth plan on a new 3G/4G mobile technology and an expansive buildout on fiber optic cable across Nigeria that will enable a bundle of data and voice packages to consumers within urban and rural centres.
“Any three-point plan or three-dimension idea is naïve and completely missing the scope and complexity of the urgent Nigerian need to be brought into the 21st century broadband era,” said Wood hinting at the company’s plan to kickoff bundle services that will put data, voice and video within the grasps of consumers under renewable monthly or quarterly terms.
“Nigerians should look forward to a new regime of intensely exciting and innovative brand loyalty rewards programs, from the new 9mobile,” said Wood.
