Via Angola24, a report on new MNO in Angola:

More than half of the countries in the Africell Group today formalized the contract with the Government of Angola to become the fourth global telecommunications operator and start offering services later this year, the company announced today.

In a statement, the company said it plans to invest “several hundred million dollars” in infrastructure and services during the first phase of the project, estimating that in the next five years, 6,500 jobs will be created.

He also promised to subcontract local companies for the works, thus hoping to “generates significant indirect jobs and boost Angola’s knowledge base through the supply chain and support services needed to operate a sophisticated communications and technology business”.

The formalization of the agreement with the Ministry of Telecommunications of Angola, theMinistry of Finance of Angola and the Angolan telecommunications regulator INACOM takesplace about six months after Africell won the public tender for a fourth telecommunications license in Angola, to which was the only candidate.

“Angola is one of the most attractive investment destinations in sub-Saharan Africa and anAfrican leader, so we see this as the next logical step for Africell as we continue to expand ournetwork and deepen our footprint across the continent” , Ziad Dalloul, founder and executive chairman and Africell Group, said in a statement.

The North American entrepreneur expressed a commitment to “work with the AngolanGovernment to transform the Angolan telecommunications market through lower prices and accessibility”.

Africell intends to offer affordable services to customers across the country, betting on a high-speed mobile network focused on data and sophisticated smartphone devices, also at affordable prices.

Angola is the fifth market where the Africell Group will have operations, joining Uganda,Sierra Leone, Gambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it already has a base of12 million customers.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of INACOM, Pascoal Fernandes, said he is pleased that Africell has chosen Angola to expand and hopes that it will contribute to the”development of the market, thus creating conditions for users of services to enjoy better services. quality.”

With origins in Lebanon, the group has since 2020 been registered in Jersey, EnglishChannel Island, and has offices in London.

The capital is held by Ziad Dalloul and an unidentified French shareholder, having in recent years raised 370 million dollars (307 million euros at current exchange rate) from entities such as the US investment agency US International Development Finance Corporation(USIDFC) , formerly called Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), from the Gemcorp and Helios Investment Partners funds and the International Financial Corporation, which is part of the World Bank.