Giving the community world-class products is a key motive for Zimbabwe's leading telco

As Zimbabwe's largest provider of telecommunications, Econet Wireless provides services for mobile and fixed telephony, Internet access, mobile money transfers and payment solutions.

Launched in July 1998, and listed on September 17, 1998, it is one of the largest companies on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, with a predicted investment sum of $1 billion this year.

It has a 70 percent stake in Zimbabwe's mobile market and continues to grow its subscriber base. Econet Wireless CEO Douglas Mboweni explained the rapid rise of this leading telecommunications provider.

"When we first launched Econet, our services were immediately oversubscribed. We were the third entrant into the market, but six months' later became the market leader. The main reason was the introduction of prepaid services and immediately we knew that the Zimbabwean market was right in terms of having an appetite for technological services.

"The shift to a multicurrency economy by the minister of finance, and the creation of the national unity government opened up a world of new opportunities for Zimbabwe, and certainly for the ICT sector. We had new resources, thanks to the dollar, coupled with access to equipment coming from China, Europe and so forth.

"To best illustrate the impact of these moves, our penetration rates in terms of telephony were 13 percent, but after three years have risen to 74 percent.

"I compliment the government because they came up with new policies that pushed the ICT sector, - they understood how ICT could benefit Zimbabwe. I was tremendously encouraged by that kind of development."

Toward full penetration

With its mission to see Zimbabwe with a 100-percent penetration rate by 2015, Econet is spearheading the digital revolution of the country. Full penetration will provide the perfect platform for electronic transactions to be made by each and every citizen.

"I do believe we'll achieve that goal before the deadline because of Zimbabwe's high literacy rate," Mboweni said. "More than 90 percent of the population over the age of 15 can read and write in English, which means that even in remote villages, people can understand the products. The government's education policy is paying dividends and we are seeing excellent results."

Mboweni's view of the Sino-Zimbabwean relationship is of a positive bond that can only continue to prosper and grow. It is based on three levels, he said:

"The first one is government to government, which is already impressive, and that is a fundamental pillar for what happens within the country.

"The second level is a consequence of the first, because the cordial relationship established between the two countries is a useful platform to coordinate business interactions.

"The third level is specific organizations having direct links with Chinese companies. I was part of a Zimbabwean delegation that went to China and we were very well received. Through cordial relations, everything is easier: we work very well with companies like Huawei and ZTE and there are lots of ties being fostered with other companies. Most of our equipment now comes from China; the infrastructure that we have built for connecting our major cities comes from China, and our major contractor is Huawei.

"I would like to remind readers that we are coming out of a situation where it was very difficult to establish a business relationship with Zimbabwe, but now I am very confident about our future."

For the Econet Wireless CEO, an innovative spirit has been the key to the company's success.

"Our major advantage is customer service, based on a wide range of products and services," he said.

"We were the first organization to bring pre-paid services to Zimbabwe and within six months became the market leader, so innovation is what differentiates us from our competitors. Behind every innovative idea or product there is a person. We consider people our biggest asset and our team is driven by passion and a desire to achieve the objectives.

"However, the true test of a company is its ability to live beyond its people, the institutional capability is absolutely fundamental. We are working on building a reliable system in order to create a culture of excellence so we will continue to offer the very best services and products to our customers.

"Zimbabwe has tremendous resources and our human capital is excellent. Here, there is a desire to do the best and in terms of being open to investors and tourists, we are one of the best destinations. Econet's desire is to do the best we can; my personal desire is that people will come to Zimbabwe and find us to be a company that is able to transform their lives here."

Econet plays a very active role in the local community and champions social, health, education, scholarships and faith initiatives as part of its corporate responsibility.

InFocus provided the story

(China Daily 09/12/2012 page5)