This morning brought a release from telecommunication giant, Orange, confirming it has completely acquired Tigo, a mobile operator in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This move is coming less than three months after Orange signed an agreement with Tigo parent company, Millicom.
With a population of over 80 million and a mobile penetration rate of 50%, DRC offers Orange considerable growth potential. Currently, the country has the second largest mobile market, after Nigeria, in Central and West Africa.
Speaking on the deal, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Orange, Bruno Mettling said, “We are extremely happy to announce the completion of the acquisition of Tigo by Orange DRC in a market marked by very strong growth potential. Through this strategic investment, Orange confirms its ambition to reinforce its presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and accelerate the conditions in which it can develop its services through this consolidation.”
This acquisition, along with the previous one Orange carried out in earlier this month in Liberia, is part of the company’s plan to build strong roots in Africa. This new acquisition makes Congo the 21st country in the Orange Group’s African and Middle East market. Word has it that the group has plans to acquire Airtel’s subsidiaries in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone – that’s number 22 and 23. They also recently bought into Africa Internet Group, the parent company of sites like Jumia and Kaymu.
All these strategic moves and investments definitely shows Orange means this “international development strategy” business. Orange has big ambitions involving Africa and they know exactly how to go about it.
