Charles Mbire Shares his Assessment of the Telecom Sector in Uganda

Charles Mbire, Chairman of MTN Uganda, shares his assessment of the telecom sector in Uganda.

“The telecom market in Uganda has many players. It has reached maturity but the tele density is still less than expected so there is still market potential. Currently, the market is evolving. It is migrating away from voice and heading towards fintech. We also have a band television. Value added services are the future. We are optimizing in farming and education. Other sectors are also evolving. Revenue will be earned from broadband and other parts of telecoms. We are preparing ourselves to move into those other sectors which should bring a lot of value and revenue. The advantage Uganda has is that is has the youngest population in the world. That young population can easily adapt. They are the real market for these services. It is a booming economy and one of the fastest growing economies. With the growth is the demand and the awareness of the value these economies bring because they add business velocity. We are very positive in that we are growing along with the growth of the economy and the growth of the population”, says Charles Mbire.

“The perspective will not change, but there are many external shocks that come and disrupt our vision and planning. In reality, we have the demand. We are looking at the oil sector. We are looking at also migrating into commercial agriculture. We will remain on the right path. Given the historical political stability and security in the country, we are moving in the right direction. The external shocks that keep coming up like currencies, external trade wars, external diseases, global warming and changing weather patterns we cannot get away from. However, we are preparing ourselves and we are confident. The only issue will be if there is an election year, which is quite unpredictable in African countries. But we are robust and we are positive that our growth will continue. The telecom sector is quite competitive. It was opened up but we already feel that we are doing the right thing. We are customer centric, we are above board, we are very clear, we are the biggest taxpayer, we are a very good corporate citizen, and we give back to society through CSR channels. We give a product which offers value for money. This market is a market for two or three players. So, with an open policy, people will come in and people will fall away. Even a giant like Vodacom was here for two years then failed. We will continue to give the customers value for money”, he adds.

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