Walter Wafula & Agencies
18 January 2008
Kampala — UNITED Arab Emirates' Warid Telecom this week unveiled its services in Congo Brazzaville to become the nation's third phone operator, less than a week after its launch in Uganda.
Sheik Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, the president of Warid Telecom, told an opening ceremony that the company aimed to be the "biggest mobile telephone company in Congo and even in the whole of Africa".
The company launched its services on January 10 forecasting investment of $95 million over the next six years. In Uganda, Sheik Al Nahayan said, Warid had so far invested $250 million of the planned $400 million.
Warid Telecom Uganda is currently undertaking a nationwide customer registration exercise and has reportedly registered 150,000 people with interest to join it, in its two days of business in Uganda.
The Abu Dhabi based group has already spent $79 million to launch services in 44 locations in the central African country (Congo) while it has set up 380 base stations (masts) in various locations in Uganda.
While he pledged to invest in Uganda's banking sector, Sheik Al Nahayan also expressed his intention to invest in the tourist sector in Congo Republic.
Sheik Nahayan is also the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Group which is worth $10 billion (Shs17,000 billion), and based in the United Arab Emirates, with diverse interests, in banking, insurance, real estate, and telecommunications.
Like Chinese, European and Indian companies, Arab companies are pouring investment worth millions of dollars into the tourism, hospitality, pharmaceutical, and energy sectors across Africa.
During Warid's launch in Uganda, President Y.K Museveni invited through Sheik Al Nahayan more Arab investors to come and set up companies in Uganda.
He said Uganda has a lot of potential in the agricultural sector which needs to be utilised to enrich the country as well as improve the food baskets of other countries on the globe.
"You can also look at other investment opportunities in the country, in other sectors such as agro processing. Uganda would like to liberate man kind from bad food which they eat. We have got very good foods which are not modified by inorganic fertilizers." Mr Museveni told Sheik Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan the Chairman Warid Telecom, after launching Warid on January 9.
Congo's mobile telecoms market is currently dominated by Celtel Congo, owed by Kuwait's Zain Group (owners of Celtel International), and South African based MTN Group.
The entry of Warid on the African continent is set to increase competition in the industry that will see services diversified, improved and made affordable.
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