Dar es Salaam. November 4th, 2019. MIC Tanzania Public Limited Company (Tigo), announced today the completion of the combination with its sister company Zanzibar Telecom Public Limited Company (Zantel).
Further to the receipt of approval from the relevant authorities, the process to transfer ownership of the shares in Zantel to Tigo is now complete. The successful closing will now see both companies combine their operations in the mainland and in Zanzibar.
Commenting on the transaction, Simon Karikari, Managing Director of Tigo, highlighted that combining the sister companies is in Tanzania’s interest: “Through combining our operations in Tanzania - Tigo and Zantel - I firmly believe we will create a more inclusive future for Tanzanian telecommunications. Both Tigo and Zantel customers will be able to enjoy enhanced services and a more consolidated market will help drive forward innovation in the sector more broadly.”
The combined business will bring together the strengths of Tigo and Zantel to better serve customers both in the mainland and in Zanzibar. The combined group will offer improved coverage and better quality of service to customers in both urban and rural Tanzania, enabling also wider access to communication solutions for businesses as well as mobile financial services to Tigo and Zantel customers.
As both companies are coming together with the goal of supporting the development of Tanzania, the result should only lead to success.
The integration process between the two companies will start soon. However, customers can continue enjoying their services on Tigo and Zantel respectively. Customers’ SIM cards and mobile numbers will not change. There will be no interruption to customers’ experience on both networks during the integration process.
**ENDS**
Factsheet:
Tigo and Zantel together
Total number of mobile users*: 12,883,000
Total number of mobile money users*: 7,350,000
Tigo and Zantel are combining their operations – why?
The Tanzania market is highly fragmented and in need of consolidation. By combining Tigo and Zantel operations in Tanzania, we aim to ensure a more balanced competitive environment that will benefit the country, support progress and innovation in the telecommunications sector, and bring together the strengths of both companies to better serve customers both in the mainland and in Zanzibar.
Benefits for customers, telecom sector and the country
For the telecom sector: greater industry stability, scalability, industry investment, and better quality of service and innovation.
For Tanzania: support the development of the country as a whole with a more inclusive telecom sector .
For customers: strong benefits to consumers and businesses by enabling the combined group to diversify investments into unsurpassed customer experience, more efficient coverage as well as more innovative and advanced technology and services.
Uninterrupted customer experience during the integration
Customers can continue enjoying all the services and benefits they currently have on Tigo and Zantel respectively. Customers’ SIM cards and mobile numbers will not change. There will be full continuity of services during the integration process.
Impact on employees
For now, both Tigo and Zantel continue to operate as separate entities and execute their business as usual. During integration there will be reallocation of resources within both Tigo and Zantel with the objective of rationalizing operations with minimal impact on the workforce.
What’s next?
We continue to run the business as normal and for the time being, both companies will continue to work as separate entities. In the coming weeks, the integration process will start. We will keep the media informed about key milestones and developments.