Airtel targets 18% customer base growth by year end

Bharti Airtel Nigeria (BHARTI) is targeting an
18 percent increase in its customer base over
the final nine months in 2014 after regulator
pressure hampered growth early in the year.
According to the head of the unit in Nigeria,
Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, said in an interview
that India’s largest mobile-phone operator
plans to increase subscribers in Africa’s
biggest economy to 30 million by the end of
the year.
“I’m very very optimistic that there are no
encumbrances against growth so I’m sure
we’re going to reach the 30-million mark,” he
said. He added that, “Despite the environment
and the issues we face, I think we’re still
giving relatively good service to our
customers.”
New Delhi-based Airtel had 25.5 million
subscribers at the end of March, according to
the Nigerian Communications Commission,
NCC. NCC added that Nigeria is the
company’s biggest market outside India.
According to the NCC, Airtel unseated
Nigeria’s Globacom Ltd., as the second
largest operator in the country during the
three months through March, behind
Johannesburg-based MTN Group Ltd. All
three companies were fined by the regulator
for not meeting quality service standards in
January and banned from selling new SIM
cards during March.
Nigeria which is Africa’s most populous
nation with about 170 million people, is a
target for mobile-phone companies despite
epileptic power supply and frequent bomb
attacks posing challenges to doing business.
The total number of connected lines increased
to 177 million as of the end of April, compared
with 170 million at the start of the year,
according to NCC data.
Despites the challenges faced in Nigeria,
Ogunsanya said the company is making N48.3
billion ($300 mln) plans to expand the
company’s network and services in the
country. He said, “We’re very bullish about
Nigeria.” “We plan to spend about $300
million expanding Airtel’s network and
services in the country this year.” “We have
invested so much in marketing research to see
what the customers want and we are
delivering on those expectations.”