Tinubu Meets Airtel Founder, Mittal, Woos Foreign Investors

•Mittal: Hails Nigeria’s president, says Airtel has invested $4bn in Nigeria 

•Telco rolls out 5G network in four states

Deji Elumoye in Abuja and Emma Okonji in Lagos

President Bola Tinubu yesterday, assured prospective investors in Nigeria that his government would provide a better business climate for them to thrive.

The president who said this during an audience with the Founder and Global Chairman of Bharti Airtel, Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal; Africa Group Chief Executive, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, and their team at the State House, Abuja, declared: “I assure you that your investment is very safe and will continue to grow. We are working to improve business environment for all investors.”

The assurance by the president came just as Airtel Nigeria, yesterday rolled out its fifth-generation (5G) network in four states in Nigeria, with plans to cover the entire country by the end of the year.

Tinubu recalled his historic connection with the telecommunication company when it started as Econet Wireless while he was Governor of Lagos State, saying he facilitated and supported the entry of the company into Nigeria to liberalise the telecommunication industry.

He praised the growth of the company and welcomed the offer of partnership to further deepen economic growth and eradicate poverty among Nigerians.

According to the President: “I have a connection with Airtel. We brought Econet to Nigeria when I was governor of Lagos State. I was a main promoter then because we needed to liberalise the telecom industry.

“The economy of Asia headed by India is very phenomenal because of reforms. We are ready to copy India.

“Digital economy is very crucial. We are not ashamed to copy any model that works. I congratulate Airtel for the growth of your business in Nigeria. We are looking forward to the growth and expansion of your 5G network in Nigeria. Airtel should continue to promote Nigeria.”

Tinubu also commended the economic strength of India in Asia, noting how technology had helped the largest democracy in the world to pull millions out of extreme poverty.

Earlier in his presentation, the Global Chairman of Bharti Airtel, Mr. Mittal, congratulated Tinubu and offered him the goodwill of his company and that of his country, India, noting that besides being a businessman and investor in Nigeria, he is a member of Business Advisory Council of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mitall showered encomiums on Tinubu for the key decisions he has taken within just three weeks in office, which have put Nigeria back on global business reckoning.

“I came here to make a request, but I have to say thank you first. We are grateful for what you have done with the removal of fuel subsidy and fixing the foreign exchange. This will open a floodgate of foreign investments.

“You have taken these bold steps. It is important to stand firm. Airtel is a robust telecom company and we are ready to serve Nigeria,’’ Mitall added.

Also speaking, Ogunsanya, while commenting on the challenge of vandalism of telecom infrastructure pleaded with the president to prioritise it as national security issue that should be addressed:

He said: “It is in our interest to provide better service but we are always faced with the destruction of our infrastructure, especially our fibre optic cables. Telecom infrastructure should be taken as critical national assets that must be protected.

“We believe in digital transformation of Nigeria.

“I am committed to this country because I am a Nigerian and this market is the biggest under my portfolio. We can take millions of our people out of poverty with digital transformation of our economy.”

Speaking with newsmen after having audience with Tinubu, the Airtel boss, lauded the president for taking steps to float the naira and unify the foreign exchange windows, thereby making the country become more attractive to investors and strengthening the economy.

Mittal, who said his company had invested almost $4 billion in Nigeria in the last 10 years, also disclosed that Airtel has projected that its annual investment would go up to about $700 million annually in the next three to four years, in the face of its 5G role out in the country.

He also noted that the Tinubu administration had shown commitment to removing Nigerians from poverty and Nigeria’s potential to leverage digital infrastructure for the benefit of its citizens.   

“As you’ve all seen, the naira has been devalued, but the worldwide markets have given standing ovations to this move and the dollar and bond markets have strengthened in Nigeria and generally there’s excitement in investing and companies who are going to be coming to put their bases here in Nigeria.  

“I also saw this president’s deep commitment to removing poverty. I come from a country, India, where we also have decades of poverty, which has been rapidly minimised and eradicated in some parts, through intervention of massive infrastructure investment, massive digital ecosystem creation and using the digital infrastructure to provide services by the government to its citizens, be that direct benefit transfer in the form of cash in the hands of people, biometric-based banking transactions, biometric-based health services.

“During the COVID time, India, as you know, through the biometric, could ensure that every citizen of the country was inoculated and vaccinated and these things that the technology can offer and more, are no fully on display in India and available to its friendly countries in Africa, like Nigeria”, he said. 

“We’re already investing about $400 million a year, which has been going on for the last many years that will, of course continue, that is business as usual.

“On top of that, to roll out the 5G and more fiber into the ground and data centres, will require more $700 million to get to that outcome. So while there is no exact number I can give you, but all I can tell you is $400 million is what we generally invest every year.

“With 5G, the investment is only going to go up for the next two or three years, before it comes back to the same $350, $450 million a year and we have invested just under $4 billion since the time we have come into Nigeria”.

He also spoke about the forthcoming G20 Summit in India, where he would present recommendations to enhance trade between African countries, using local currencies.

Airtel Rolls Out 5G Network in Four States, Targets More States

Meanwhile, Airtel Nigeria, yesterday rolled out its 5G network in four states in Nigeria, with plans to cover the entire country by the end of the year.

The four states include Lagos, Ogun, Rivers and Abuja.

With the 5G launch, Airtel joins other telecom service providers like MTN that had also launched 5G in Nigeria.

According to Airtel, the 5G Launch is a non-standalone version that is better in service delivery.

Speaking at the 5G launch, the Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Carl Cruz, said: “The 5G revolution opens a new vista of opportunities and it is a quantum leap from the existing 4G network.

” With 4G, video playback and video calls are smooth but in 5G, end-to-end video creation with the support of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is possible.

“5G is a completely new experience that supercharges cloud computing, telemedicine, self-driving cars, cloud gaming, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Internet of Things (IoT). With 5G, we can only be limited by the limits of our imagination.”

He said with 5G, there would be more collaboration among stakeholders in the telecoms space to do new things with Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Smart Cities, among others.

Cruz, appreciated the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), for enabling telecoms operators in Nigeria to join other countries that have rolled out the 5G service, through the issuance of 5G spectrum licence.

“Airtel Nigeria is proud to be an early mover with 5G technology, not just in Africa but all over the world, thanks to the commitment of the Nigerian government. 5G became a reality early in Nigeria when only about 60 countries had access worldwide.

“In addition to that, the frequency spectrum band allocated to 5G will make the experience wore worthwhile for consumers. Our goal as Airtel Nigeria, therefore, is to make 5G accessible and widespread in the country,” Cruz further said.

The Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Femi Oshinlaja, said to ensure more Nigerians have access to the 5G technology, Airtel would be offering its 5G router for N30, 000 and has partnered with Samsung to deliver the Galaxy A14 model at a very affordable price.

He said though the 5G was positioned to consume more data because it enables more speed and latency, he however said the rate and prices of data would remain the same.

Oshinlaja further said Airtel partnered with Samsung for the 5G devise and also partnered Huawei and ZTE for its 5G equipment.     

“So, if you have a 5G enabled device like Samsung, iPhone, or any other brand, you can now experience the speed and robustness of 5G on the Airtel Nigeria network,” Cruz said.