These are just some of the communication issues facing many Africans across the continent, contributing to an inefficient business environment on the basis of time and money. In Nigeria, for instance – a country that holds the largest telecommunications market on the continent with a population of about 120 million – until recently only one in every 250 individuals owned or had access to a telephone. This means one-sixth of Africa’s entire population was completely untapped.

As like many other African countries, Nigeria’s economy has suffered tremendously at the hands of decades of military rule. The country was prone to internal theft of goods and services, official bribery of politicians and bureaucratic mismanagement of funds and resources. At one point Nigeria had a total of 700,000 installed telephone lines with about half said to have been disconnected.

However, there is a change afoot. Nigeria, like many other countries in Africa, has recently experienced a change in government rule. Now with a more liberalized and democratic system in place, the country is ready to compete and participate in the rapidly evolving telecommunications network. A big player in that network is the South African based Mobile Telephone Networks, also known as MTN. In Africa’s first held telecommunications auction, MTN secured one of the three GSM licenses for operations in Nigeria for a fee of ZAR 2.2 billion (263M euros).

Cellular network operator MTN launched in South Africa in June 1994 with the vision of becoming Africa’s foremost cellular network. In a relatively short period of time the brand has achieved its goal, not in least part by using customer centricity as its guiding principle. MTN’s network coverage in South Africa is fairly comprehensive, relative to prior coverage, with a customer base of over 3 million subscribers. And alongside continuous development of competitive, innovative and affordable telecommunications services, MTN’s customer base in South Africa continues to grow, covering about 720,000 square kilometers (100,386 sq mi). However,MTN is not peerless. Presently it only garners 43% of the market while Vodacom holds over 55% -- with 10 million consumers in a population of 45 million. On the horizon comes Cell C, linked to Saudi Arabia and due to launch by the end of 2001.

Perhaps MTN’s greatest strength in facing Vodacom and Cell C lies in knowing the market. The cellular network was the first to introduce the prepaid cellular option offering customers cellular service without contracts and credit checks. The prepaid option, also known by Africans as Pay-As-You-Go, comes with a variety of packages and SIM cards (a feature that allows you to insert a prepaid card into the back of your phone). Considering Africa’s fluctuating economy the networks conscious awareness of the need to provide customers with efficient service, value for money and products that are geared to the customer’s specific needs is the perfect marketing strategy for Africa.

MTN has also undertaken a community service program to provide subsidized mobile telephone services to under-privileged areas, over 9,000 community service pay phones have been installed to date in South Africa.

In the past few years MTN has begun its quest to achieve continental expansion with three specified regions in mind:

• Southern Africa, comprising Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.
• Great Lakes/East Africa, comprising Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Burundi.
• Central/West Africa, comprising Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, and Ghana

Mobile phones are not just the latest craze in Africa – they are an absolutely essential accessory to life. With network companies like MTN and GSM phone-producing companies like Samsung, Ericsson, Alcatel, Nokia, and Motorola all adamant about investing in the economy, it’s more than likely that Africa will experience the largest telecommunications and economical boom in history. By knowing its market and having first-mover advantage, MTN has proven itself to be a real African company and a pioneer in Africa’s new economic environment.

Originally from Ghana, Nana Eyeson is a student of liberal arts. She lives and works in New York City.