[Transcript] #49: Glo (Globacom) - How the private telecommunications company expanded across Nigeria & West Africa
Transcript for episode originally recorded on Apr 10, 2022
Hello, Bankole here:
Sharing the transcript of the Globacom episode below.
Globacom stands apart from Orange, MTN or Airtel. Unlike the others, it is privately owned, and has cultivated a distinctly Nigerian brand identity. Globacom has also maintained its 28% Nigerian market share, going neck and neck with Airtel but still behind MTN. I’m admittedly partial to the company, and I have fond memories of Globacom disrupting the Nigerian “stable duopoly” many years ago.
Despite being private, Globacom is not immune to African telco’s trends. We’re in the middle of an expensive technology transition to 4G LTE and 5G. Customer usage has shifted away from Voice to Data, and mobile money is the next big thing. Glo is ready for this world. They have a mobile money product and agent network. Glo continues to invest in network improvement and uniquely has a solely owned submarine cable, Glo-1. All of this makes the founder Mike Adenuga the second-richest Nigerian, after our cement godfather.
You can listen to the episode here, and paid subscribers can access the transcript below.
Best,
Bankole.
[00:00:00] Olumide Ogunsanwo: Okay, today we're going to talk about telecoms company. We'll explore the Globacom story across five areas. First, we'll start with some context about the Nigerian telecom sector. Second, we'll talk about Globacom's early history. Third, we'll deep dive into Globacom's telco and non telco businesses.
We'll talk about potential exit options for Globacom. And then fifth, we'll end with our views on its overall outlook. This episode was recorded on April 10, 2022. So we're talking about Globacom.
[00:01:00] Bankole Makanju: Yeah. Globacom, the Nigerian telco with a promoter, which is a very a very interesting I don't know if it's a common verb to use for businesses, but it's a common thing in India.
Businesses have a promoter, basically the founder or the chief person behind the business, promoted by Micah Denugar. Interesting. Okay. Nigerian billionaire.
[00:01:19] Olumide Ogunsanwo: Yeah, it's funny, I think, so everyone in Nigeria calls it Glo, so I'll just be calling it Glo for most of this episode, I can't. In fact, If someone said globacom, I'd have to do a second take to know what they're talking about.