From the land of the poor Africa has raised its wealth, made of the air networks a success story, still resonates among Africans through the contacts established «Celltel» founded in 1998, that Sudanese Mohamed Ibrahim, known as «Mo Ibrahim», who dreamed of becoming a teacher Billionaire, and succeeded in persuading the poor to buy bread with a phone and stock an asset.
African boy dreams "I am the African boy himself who grew up poor. I came here and worked hard. I was lucky enough because the things I dreamed of were just done, so there is nothing unusual or wonderful about the story." An attractive prize for democracy Mo Ibrahim established an award to promote good governance, democratization, development and justice. The prize is worth $ 5 million, with a salary of $ 200,000 for life, and is given to African leaders who have met the criteria set by the institution. Nubian Mohammed Fathi Ibrahim was born in northern Sudan, south of Nubia, in 1946, then moved with his family to live in northern Egypt. He studied electrical engineering at the University of Alexandria where he graduated, and then emigrated to England in 1974 where he worked and studied for a master's degree in electrical and electronic engineering from Bradford University. He obtained a PhD in mobile communications from the University of Birmingham, British Telecom. 100 million African millionaires SellTell was sold in 2005 for $ 3.4 billion, shareholders and employees shared $ 500 million, and 100 people, mostly Africans, became millionaires. Mu wanted to repay Africa that helped him achieve this success. - The things I dreamed of just done, there is nothing unusual or wonderful in the story. - When the mobile phone was in some countries a personal purpose, African families were sharing a phone for all of them. |
The story of Mo Ibrahim began when he decided to resign from British Telecom, or PTV, where he was chief technical officer of the new mobile communications division.
"When I left my job with major companies in London, I was frustrated. I lost my car, my secretary and my mobile phone, all the beautiful features, and before this miserable situation, I decided to become an adviser," says Mo.
Moe went home and told his wife that he would set up an office in the dining room, where he founded his company, Mobile Systems International, which he sold in 2000 for $ 916 million. Five years later he sold his second company, CellTel, which operates in 15 African countries and has 24 million subscribers. $ 3 billion, and Forbes magazine estimated its fortune at $ 2.5 billion.
The mobile that changed their lives
"I changed the mobile industry in Africa," Mo Ibrahim says. "In the 1990s, when I wanted to bring mobile communications to Africa, the experts advised me not to do so. The name of this continent was synonymous with instability, coups, revolutions, corruption and bribery. Even if I did, I have to lend people money to buy a mobile phone to use my network services, but I decided to do it, despite these tips. "
Moe had no experience at the time in establishing and managing telecommunications companies. He was just a consultant and technical expert, and he did not have the money he needed for such huge investments. He owns and manages his first small company, Mobile Systems International, With only five employees, but he did not give in and kept chasing his African dream.
Mu started trying to get a loan or finance enough to set up a mobile operator in Uganda. The biggest challenge he faced was building trust. He did not establish a mobile telecom company before, investors did not trust him to get the money, nor did government employees get the necessary licenses. . On the other hand, the biggest point in Mo's position was his lack of competitors, and the arena was empty.
In 1998 Mu managed to raise the capital needed to start, founded his company SellTel, and started with simple and cheap communication technologies. Instead of selling monthly contract lines, the sale was only for pre-paid cards.
While the individual in other countries was buying the mobile phone for himself, African families were sharing a mobile phone for all of them. All of these ideas made the cost of managing the emerging telecom company cheap and easy, which helped them continue and succeed.
It started to enter the rest of the African markets and get official government authorization to operate in it, such as Malawi, Congo, Gabon and Sierra Leone, but this expansion requires a lot of money and more focus and time. Mobile Systems International ($ 916 million), and re-invested its stake in Celltel.
No bribery in Africa
Every African country was a major challenge to Moe. Despite the widespread corruption in these countries, Mo refused to deal with bribes and decided not to give or accept any bribe, either by him or by any of the other shareholders of the company. "I met with all the employees of the company and assured them that no one could pay a bribe. If any of our executives in the field were under pressure, they would have to say, 'How much do you want?' Two million? three millions? I will write a request to the board of directors. "
"As soon as our partners knew that this is the way we do business, all the pressure is gone."
Moe succeeded in fighting bribery in his dealings and decided to strengthen the company's reputation in these countries by building schools and clinics, helping the disadvantaged to learn new skills, and overcoming bribery in humanitarian and social work.
The number of mobile phones in the continent rose from 7.5 million in 1999 to 76.8 million in 2004, an average annual increase of 58 percent and the taxi driver in Uganda has the mobile as well as the banana vendor in Nigeria and Kenya.
In the same year, MoE's customers reached 5.2 million subscribers in 13 countries with a total return of $ 614 million a year and a net profit of $ 147 million.