Tigo boss now CEO of merged Tigo-Airtel

The MD of Tigo Ghana, Roshi Motman, has been named as the CEO of the merged Tigo-Airtel firm by shareholders.

This was announced in a statement issued by Tigo announcing completion of the merger which makes the resultant telco the second biggest in Ghana with about 10 million customers, pushing Vodafone to third place with about 9 million customers.

The National Communication Authority (NCA) recently gave its approval to the merger, which began in March 2017.

Both firms will hold equal ownership and governance rights in the combined entity with Roshi Motman at the helm of affairs. It is recalled that Airtel CEO Lucy Quist recently resigned.

“It is envisaged that the combined business will offer improved coverage and better quality of service to customers in both urban and rural Ghana, enabling wider access to communication solutions for businesses and mobile financial services to the Ghanaian customers,” the statement said.

The statement said: “Through an efficient delivery of superior customer experience, high speed data, innovative product mix and wider network coverage the new combined business will challenge the market leader, improve the competitive dynamics of the telecoms sector and in the long-term, strengthen the mobile ecosystem.”

Despite the merger transactions being successfully completed, the two firms will be running parallel networks as they gradually fuse into one entity within 18 months.

Apart from being mandated by the regulator to educate their customers on the implications of the merger every step of the way so that the fusion does not negatively impact customers, they will also be allowed to keep their 026/056 and 027/057 numbers until any changes are made.

About Tigo

Tigo started operations in Ghana in 1992 as the first Mobile Network Operator. It is part of Millicom International Cellular (MIC) which provides mobile, voice, data, cable television, broadband and financial services to over 50 million customers in 13 emerging markets in Africa and Latin America. In Ghana, it was first launched under the brand name, Mobitel and in 2002 it was rebranded to Buzz. This later changed to Tigo in 2006 to reflect the standard brand name within the Millicom Group.

With a current subscriber base of over 5 million subscribers, Tigo is a dynamic and highly visible brand actively driving digital and financial inclusion. Tigo Cash, the Mobile Financial Service was launched in 2011 and highly patronised by the informal sector and rural Ghana. Tigo Cash is renowned for its quick, safe and convenient services.

About Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 17 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 3 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company’s product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed home broadband, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long-distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 381 million customers across its operations at the end of July 2017.