Zain changes name to Airtel

Nov 23, 2010

FORMER Zain subscribers will have the brand Airtel flashed on their handset screens instead of Zain from today as they await the arrival of new sim cards.

By David Mugabe

FORMER Zain subscribers will have the brand Airtel flashed on their handset screens instead of Zain from today as they await the arrival of new sim cards.

The name change to Airtel completes months of waiting since Bharti acquired 16 Zain African operations in June for $11.7b.

Airtel now has its work cut out following the interruptions that come with brand changing.

The one network seamless product where Zain subscribers can use their sims anywhere on the continent, will for now only apply to Africa.

“We are in the process of extending to where we have a presence,” said N.Arjun, the Bharti chief for projects and integration.

“Africa is on the grasp of change. The mobile handset will be the device that will change the lives of the people for the better,” said Arjun at the rebranding brief at the Kampala Serena Hotel yesterday.

Yesse Oenga, the Airtel Uganda managing director, explained that the target was to make Airtel the most loved brand by 2015 by driving affordability and availability.

“There are huge opportunities across Africa, delivering on that opportunity through affordable communication (is our target),” Oenga said.

Oenga said there was work going on to unveil packages that are relevant for different categories.

He promised that within the next six months, the number of masts will have more than doubled across the country.

The rebranding was not done simultaneously across Africa, but in clusters. Nigeria rebranded on Friday and Kenya on Monday.

Bharti’s Asian model of outsourcing and mass appeal is expected to be its major strategy across the continent that still has huge swathes of opportunity for penetration.

Penetration is only at about 32% of the population.

But experts say the penetration figures should be considered because half of the population are young people without a consuming power.

Bharti Airtel’s African businesses accounted for 25.6% of total revenue and 21% of mobile subscribers in its latest financial quarter to September 30.

Bharti currently has a little over 40 million customers in Africa across 16 markets following its acquisition of Zain Africa earlier this year. But it is looking to grow its African customer base to 100 million by 2012 by expanding its networks and services.

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