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DR CONGO - Telecoms & IT

Milad Khairallah

CEO, Africell

Bio

Milad Khairallah has been CEO of Africell DRC since March 2018, leading its growth in telecommunications and mobile financial services with over 17 years of experience in these sectors. He spearheaded the nationwide launch of 4G and the relaunch of AfriMoney. Milad is currently the President of the Telecom Section in the Federation des Entreprises Congolaises (FEC). He holds a Masters from TELECOM ParisTech and serves as Vice President of AmCham RDC and a Board Member at several organizations.

"In 2010, Africell Group was in the Gambia and Sierra Leone. We were searching for another opportunity and realized the immense potential in the DRC given the population of 80-90 million at the time."

TBY talks to Milad Khairallah, CEO of Africell, about the DRC, internet penetration, and market share.

Africell has a presence all over Africa. What brought the company to the DRC?

In 2010, Africell Group was in the Gambia and Sierra Leone. We were searching for another opportunity and realized the immense potential in the DRC given the population of 80-90 million at the time. It took our founder a few years to get a license and get everything sorted, and Africell launched in the DRC in 2012. We see great potential here for mobile financial services as well as the other services that we offer such as for fiber and tower companies.

Does Africell cover the entire country in terms of phone service and internet penetration?

We started in Kinshasa in 2012 before expanding into Katanga and Kongo Central in 2013. We had to acquire more funding before later expanding into Kikwit and Bandundu in 2020 and Kasaï in 2022 or 2023. We also launched our services in the east side of Congo including Goma, Bukavu, Uvira, and Kalemie at the end of 2023. Africell is currently in 16 of the 26 Congolese regions.

What is the largest challenge for Africell?

Infrastructure is one of our biggest problems. For example, we have a team each in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, and Goma. All the regions are connected to Kinshasa, though they are not connected via fiber. We had to open another data center in Goma and Lubumbashi that entailed a large OPEX and CAPEX. Another of our projects was with Visa to connect Kinshasa to Lubumbashi. In fact, Kinshasa to Lubumbashi were connected via fiber just four years ago. Unfortunately, there is still no fiber connection to Goma.

Does Africell plan to focus on fiber or mobile in the coming years?

There is still low mobile penetration in Congo, and Africell is partnering with several companies on major CAPEX projects in the DRC because we cannot do it alone. We have partnered with fiber and tower companies to grow faster. These are mostly local partnerships because our goal is to connect more towns. Anytime a town or region is newly connected, that is where we come in. For example, we started plans to launch in central DRC after SNEL started operating fiber there. We also went to the east because we knew Liquid was connecting the area. We enter these markets slightly earlier so that we are ready to launch when it is fully connected, and we establish a presence before our competitors enter the market. The goal is to give customers better service or a better price.

How does Africell plan to differentiate itself from its competitors?

When we enter a new market, we need to show existing and new customers our key differentiators. First is the price of the devices and services that we provide. Second, we focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles and organize numerous events and initiatives. We have the Africell Foundation that offers assistance to those in need. The third way in which we differentiate ourselves is to offer extra or better services that customers have not seen before. For example, when we first launched in the east, Africell offered the fastest connection, which made a huge difference for the company.

Africell has strong presence in Africa but is originally an American group. Has it been challenging working in the DRC?

In addition to its immense potential, DRC has another key advantage for us, namely the fact that US dollar is legal tender here. We do not fact the same restrictions from the central bank here that we see in other countries. The Congolese telecoms sector is the highest or second-highest taxed telecoms sector in the world according to GSMA figures for 2018, 2019, and 2020, with taxes comprising approximately 40% of the turnover; however, we have no plans to leave the DRC. Some of our licenses here go up to 15 more years, so we are here to stay.

What are your short to medium-term plans?

We plan to work more on mobile financial services side together with Afrimoney. There are several other services that we plan to launch soon before the end of 2025, including promotions. The group is always looking for the next big thing. We launched in Angola some two years ago, and this expansion is related to the Lobito Corridor that goes through Angola, the DRC, and Zambia. We do not yet have a presence in Zambia, so that might be the next market for us.

Do you have any numbers or stats that you could share your market share and the number of clients in a particular sector or service?

In areas where we operate today, we control 10-15% of the market share. In some regions, such as Kinshasa, this figure is even higher. We have major upcoming initiatives to increase our market share. Anytime we launch in a new region, we bring in all our available services. For example, we have never launched in a new market without launching Afrimoney as well.

What would you say to an international investor who is looking to invest in the DRC?

They must do their due diligence but also come down to the DRC to see it for themselves. They should talk to other companies before deciding on anything. Investors need a great deal of local assistance in the country. They will require a team of experts on the ground who they can trust.

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